


𝐄𝐑𝐎𝐒

by ralvez



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Angst, Bisexual Spencer Reid, Drug Use, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Other, Past Rape/Non-con, Physical Abuse, Sexual Abuse, Sexual Content, Slow Burn, Swearing, Verbal Abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-03
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:41:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 51
Words: 110,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24514798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ralvez/pseuds/ralvez
Summary: lucas was part of new york branch of the FBI, he’s been part of the FBI branch since he was 22, engaged to his fiancé, ben, and the pair has been together since high school. when the virginia  branch BAU calls lucas to help them on a case, he is given a chance to join their team which meant leaving new york. although lucas would love to take the chance, but remembered he wasn’t leaving ben not for anything. however, plans can change.
Relationships: Original Male Character/Original Male Character, Spencer Reid/Original Male Character(s)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 38





	1. 𝐄𝐑𝐎𝐒

**Author's Note:**

> 𝘁𝘄// 𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗰 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗸𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝗲𝘅𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗮𝘂𝗹𝘁

𝐄𝐑𝐎𝐒

𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒅𝒐𝒆𝒔 𝒆𝒓𝒐𝒔 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏?

𝑺𝒀𝑵𝑶𝑷𝑰𝑺

LUCAS CORTEZ had lived in new york for about eight years, the first four for college and the other four because of him starting to work with the FBI. since then, lucas has been living in a apartment with his fiance, whom he engaged from high school. it had always been ben, being lucas his biggest fan and lucas giving him all the love. it however caused lucas not to make big changes in his life, not that he didn't want to, he did want to but lucas always put ben first before anyone.  
ben had slowly taken notice and felt that if lucas was going to be making huge sacrifices, he tried helping lucas out with so many things. when the BAU team from virginia makes there way to new york because of a serial killer, lucas is told to join the team and help them out with the case. leading to an opportunity for lucas to change his whole life and move to virginia to work at the virginia branch. which lucas declines due to the fact that he wasn't going to have ben move out to a whole different state for him, they had plans to get marry. however plans can change. 

i. 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐛𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐲𝐥𝐞𝐬  
ii. 𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐛𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐚 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞  
iii. 𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐲 𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐍 𝐅𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐒  
iv. 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐲𝐥𝐞𝐬  
v. 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐢'𝐦 𝐢𝐧 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐞  
vi. 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐲𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐛𝐲 𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐥𝐢𝐧  
vii. 𝐰𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐲 𝐬𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐛𝐥𝐯𝐝.  
viii. 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐰 𝐛𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠  
ix. 𝐰𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐛𝐲 𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚 𝐞𝐲𝐫𝐞  
x.𝐢'𝐦 𝐢𝐧 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐮, 𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐛𝐲 𝐣'𝐬𝐚𝐧  
xi. 𝐢𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐛𝐲 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧  
xii. 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲

𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒  
𝐬𝐞𝐱𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐬𝐭, 𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬, 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐧


	2. 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐄

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the story of lucas and ben

at a young age, lucas knew it was all for one or one for none. his parents were verbally abusive, and if they had to physically. lucas’ siblings would never stand for him instead they lashed out at him like he was a piece of shit. that’s when lucas realized he was all alone, he was never loved and it hurt. at school, he would join clubs to befriend other peers and not feel alone except when he gets home. sophomore year, lucas met the love of his life, ben jameson; he was a new kid, came all the way from texas to summerlin, nevada.

when ben joined the drama club it wasn’t because he liked theater, (because he couldn’t act to save his life) but he joined because ben wanted to get to know lucas more. it was the late 1990s, not many people were comfortable with interacial couples especially if they were gays. so, ben and lucas did start dating, in secret it went on for a long time, till they left for college. that’s what they thought till a boy named carl thompson, saw them kissing under the blenchers. ben threatened to punch carl, but the threat didn’t help. when lucas got home, the word got to his parents, his mom was rummaging through his stuff finding anything that consider him gay. while downstairs, lucas was being hit by his dad, and his siblings in their rooms, ignoring what was going on as if it didn’t matter.

when lucas got to school, those who were still friends with him, told lucas that ben was beating up carl in the cafeteria.

ben and carl ended up at the nurse’s office where the principle would soon meet them. when lucas got there, he saw ben had a bloody nose, his upper lip cut and his eye bruised. they almost looked similar with injuries. carl was with the nurse right now getting cleaned up so lucas made his way over.

“hey, you”

ben looked up and was shocked by lucas’ face, asking what happened and who did it to him, lucas broke down into tears, crying into ben’s shoulder saying that his parents found out about what happened and his dad beat him.

ben’s were a bit more understanding, not completely but they were trying.

“listen to me” lucas looked up at ben, wiping away his tears so he can focus on his boyfriend.

“me and you are getting out of here, and i’m gonna provide for both of us, you’re gonna go to a fancy school and do amazing things and i’ll also go to college and when we’re out, we’ll get a nice little apartment and you won’t have to deal with your parents ever again”

“i love you” lucas whispered,

“i love you too”

as senior year came around, the promise that ben made to lucas, seemed to slowly become a reality and lucas couldn’t wait to go off to columbia for college.

lucas was sent a text by ben to meet him out on the field, as he made his way over the young man was unsure what was going on. especially since lucas had been occupied by the end of senior year, he was going off to columbia in the fall, leaving summerlin, nevada. as he reached the field, he saw ben sitting on the bleachers. lucas climbed his way up and plopped next to ben.

“hey, what’s with the mysterious text message?” lucas asked. ben gave a small smile before talking about their future together, about how ben would go to barnard college and lucas was going to columbia. lucas just nodded, listening to every word that ben was saying before asking why ben called him out here.

“lucas, i wanna get marry, not in a few years, now”

lucas looked at ben, his mouth dropped at the sudden question, he wasn’t sure how to respond or register what ben had just asked him.

“lucas?”


	3. 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐢𝐠 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐞

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> lucas has his first case with the BAU from virginia, and along the way, lucas slowly learns about the team he's working with.

_2008_

"lucas?" the twenty-five year old turned around and faced his fiance, ben who looked tired; it was currently about two in the morning and lucas recently got a call from his superintendent that he was going to be helping the BAU branch from virginia with a case that was taking place right here in new york, with a serial killer. lucas was told to arrive at the new york branch as soon as possible to meet with the team from virginia.

"i'm assuming you got a case" it had been about six years since lucas and ben got engaged in high school, but with them being at two different colleges, they decided to wait till after because they chicken out to marry after high school. then lucas got a job at the FBI and wasn't sure where it was going to go, and once again they waited. ben walked over to lucas and kissed his forehead before saying: "go get em, tiger"

lucas was ready by five-thirty and arrived at work by seven-fifteen. he rushed out of his car and headed upstairs. once he arrived, he saw the team from virginia in the main room, along with his superintendent. lucas rushed in, catching the attention of his superintendent and the new arrivals in the rooms.

"ah, cortez, welcome, agents this is my best, cortez, cortez, agent hotchner and his team, i'll have him take it from here" lucas' superintendent left the room, having lucas feel suddenly anxious.

"agent cortez, happy to help you all," lucas said introducing himself. agent hotchner re-introduce himself again, before introducing the rest of the team, lucas gave a quick smile to everyone, he felt his stomach turn once more before he listened to what was going on with the case. as agent hotchner and his team caught up lucas on what they got so far on the case.

long story short, they believe it was a hate crime, considering most victims were gay men and most of the killings would happen outside of gay bars.

"so if it's consider a hate crime why would the fbi be involved? shouldn't the police go out there and stop this homophobic dick if it is a guy, which mostly is because most homophobic guys have either interal homophobia not sure how to handle the fact that they might be gay or believe their masculinity is weak" lucas said right off the bat looking at the file before looking back up at the team who was focus on him

"but that's my two cents" lucas added to make sure it didn't seem like he was questioning the team's presence here. hotch went on, it seemed that he was answering lucas' question by explaining the reason that they were involved with the case and it was because the fact that the kills were brutal.

lucas examined the photos once more the kills were several stab wounds in the chest but no one had mentioned that the hearts were cut out and taken from the victims.

"um, agent hotchner, i'm sorry to interrupt"

hotch waved it off saying that it's fine, letting lucas continue which had him walk up to the board and pointing out that the hearts from the victims were taking out of them, not just from the latest but from all five victims.

"it seems every time the unsub kills, they take the victims' heart as trophies" once lucas made his point he turn back to the rest of the group. although there are times they go out to the board and make comments and stuff but that was after they already gotten over everything and were told about the case.

"did i do something wrong?" lucas asked hotchner, the others watched as though it was a tennis match, looking back at lucas and back at hotch, who answered lucas: "um...no, it's fine, you made a good comment pointing out about the hearts"

lucas nodded as he headed back to where he was standing, leaning against the wall and attempting to not be visible to the team again, although hotch claims that lucas didn't do anything wrong, he sure felt like he did. lucas glanced over at one of the agents who was introduced as jj, who had pulled up a chair for him and offered to have him sit down at the table with them.

once lucas sat down, he mouth to jj a quick thank you.

the BAU team and lucas headed to the police station where officers of the precinct found the bodies. who knew there was so many gay bars close to one another?

lucas examine the room, being familiar with the setting before he laid eyes on one of the police officers.

"agent cortez, good to see you again" said officer clemson

"clemson" lucas said with more of a bitter tone, soon after clemson called out to the other officers announcing that lucas was here, the others notice the teasing tone from clemson causing lucas to roll his eyes.

"i'm here for a reason, clemson" lucas snapped

"agent hotchner, this is my team from the FBI virginia branch, we were called to consult on this case along with agent cortez, so i appreciate if you gave him some respect"

lucas covered his mouth to restrain himself from laughing. clemson apologized quickly before announcing to the others that the BAU team was here to help them find out who the unsub was, the team was going to talk to the rest of the precinct about the traits the unsub could have.

jj stepped back asking lucas what was that all about with officer clemson. the agent shook his head saying it was nothing and headed over with the team to hear them discuss the case. felt that as though he was told to join the team for the case, lucas felt that he didn't want to consult because he felt like he was intervening. also considering that he hardly works with anyone that wasn't part of his branch.

"any questions about the unsub?" asked morgan, none of the officers said anything but nodded at what the BAU was stating, and to be sure who they were going to be on the lookout for. lucas gathered up the pictures on the board to place them in a separate room for the BAU to look over.

as soon as he finished that, lucas left the room and ran into clemson

"are you seriously working with the FBI?"

"last i check am the FBI, dick" lucas responded before shoving clemson with his shoulder away from his path. clemson shook his head and followed lucas behind. the anxiety rose in lucas, his throat felt tight and it felt like his heart dropped to his stomach.

"why you walking away, cortez?"

"i have a case to do, maybe you should get back to work" lucas snapped back before clemson could respond, dr. reid (as everyone introduced him) stepped in sharing that hotch had assigned lucas to go with reid and morgan to one of the victim's houses. lucas nodded his head, and followed reid to the car.

"who's the victim?"

"the latest was an eighteen year old named jonathan"

lucas gasped quietly, getting a look from reid, who asked if something was wrong, the only thing that lucas responded was a small nod.

lucas was first when arriving at the door, he hated doing this to parents, especially since he knew who the victim was. the agent took in a big deep breath before knocking the door slightly before the person opened the door.

"agent cortez, so good to see you, have you seen john? he was supposed to be home last night..." mrs.evans voice trailed off when she noticed morgan and reid. lucas notices the worry in mrs.evans' eye.

"this can't be right! what was he even doing at a gay bar so late, he said he was going over to a friend's house for a bit" mrs.evans sobbed as her husband, stood quiet, he has been quiet for quite a while not sure how to react. lucas swallowed his salvia, every second so, because his throat kept tightening up. morgan asked route questions about jonathan; such as what was he like in school, where did he usually go and such.

"well if he wasn't in school, he would be volunteering at the near by LGBTQ+ center where agent cortez's husband works" morgan and reid glanced over at lucas who avoided their eye contact. mrs.evans kept crying, morgan thanked them for their time, and started heading out; as lucas was leaving he gave one last look at mrs.evans unsure what to say or do, so he starting leaving till he felt a tap on his shoulder and lucas turned to see mr.evans

"you'll find this bastard who killed my son right?"

"i'll do everything i can, mr.evans, you can count on me," lucas promised and left out the door to meet morgan and reid.

"husband?"

"fiance, mrs.evans thinks we're married because we've been engaged for six years, but yes jonathan was a kid who was soon to be graduating who would volunteer at the center with my fiance, he's been doing it for three years now"

"if you don't mind me asking where's your hu-i mean fiance now?"

"he's at school, he's a music teacher"

lucas knocked on the music room door which caught ben's and his students' attention. all of the students giggled as ben told them that he'll be right back and made his way to lucas.

"hey, what are you doing here? i thought you were busy on the case?"

"i am" lucas said before morgan asked ben if they can ask him a few questions about jonathan evans.

"wait, he's dead, oh my god- what happened?"

lucas shared what had been going on with the case and that jonathan was the latest victim, ben shook his head and went on about how jonathan was a good kid, that he was going to juilliard to continue his cello playing. lucas patted ben's back slightly, as reid asked if there was anyone that jonathan mentioned or met up with jonathan after volunteering. ben shook his head sharing that jonathan would go right home after school.

"wait...he did mention last time i saw him, some guy name gordon hanson, he kept getting calls and one time he went to the bathroom, and i saw his phone contact say 'gordon hanson' when i tried to ask about it he brushed it off"

morgan called someone named garcia to pull up some information about gordon hanson, as reid and morgan began heading out, lucas was once again held back by ben, who asked if everything was alright because lucas seemed tense

"i'm fine, it's just the police unit we're working with, has clemson" lucas said, rubbing his eyes reminiscing about what clemson did to lucas. ben clenched his fist asking if he needed to set clemson straight. the agent shook his head letting ben know that everything will be fine once the case is over that he won't have to deal with clemson anymore.

"you still haven't told anyone?"

"what would it matter, ben? listen, i gotta go but i'll see you at home" lucas said heading off to find morgan and reid just to find himself bumping into reid. lucas quickly apologized to reid, for bumping into him.

"morgan said to wait for you" reid said bluntly, lucas nodded his head before reid and lucas started walking off to the car. there was a tense quiet between them, lucas felt his face turn red and he wasn't sure if it was from the embarrassment or...no, that wasn't possible.

"do you mind if i ask what you and ben were talking about back there?"

"not to sound rude, but it has nothing to do with you, and it has nothing to do with the case"

"yeah but you talked about officer clems-"

"doctor, can we please drop it"

as reid and lucas arrived to the car, morgan shared that gracia gave them the information where hanson works but according to his boss, hanson didn't get in today.


	4. 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> with the case coming to an end, lucas is met with an opportunity from hotch but declines

“talk to me baby girl”

lucas looked up from what he was looking at, and looked confused at morgan then back at reid who didn’t seem that he was shocked by it whatsoever. it seemed that morgan had talked to garcia and found out that he used his credit card recently, and in case of anything, they had his address. lucas bit his nails, they were to regroup at the police station to discuss where hanson could be going if he was the unsub and if he was, who his next victim would be.

“he’s mostly like to strike again around the same area” lucas said as he mapped out where the unsub has been recently. the only club that the unsub didn’t hit was one called nowhere. jj had creeped up on lucas before heading to the press conference and asked if nowhere was really a club

“yeah, it’s pretty funny, it reminds me of this book i read called the tao of pooh where it read-”

“nowhere is always somewhere and nothing was always considered something” reid interrupted from his work. lucas nodded and pointed to reid agreeing with what he said. once jj left to go do the press conference, lucas stepped back a bit from the board, and wondered if they were to catch the guy, the only way they can is to set someone up to go to the car.

“cortez, you figured out who the killer is?” came clemson’s voice. lucas ignored his comment, trying not to have clemson get the best of him. lucas scribbled down something on the board. reid glanced up to see clemson once again near lucas.

clemson kept trying to get lucas worked up, but lucas wasn’t having it.

“don’t you have somewhere else to be, i don’t know, maybe outside of this room” lucas snapped now looking at clemson, who pretended to be offended. clemson, kept trying to push lucas’ buttons, who pushed past clemson and headed to hotch to share his idea of using someone as bait if the unsub hasn’t left the state yet.

“he’s a real piece of work isn’t he” clemson said looking over at reid, who didn’t acknowledge clemson right away.

“are you sure about this?” agent rossi asked, lucas nodded as he told the bait what to do. the plan was lucas would be in the bar waiting to see the unsub attempt to lure them out and then wait a few moments so the unsub doesn’t run away before the others come out and place the arrest.

gordon hanson had confessed to the killings including jonathan evans; lucas knows that after this, he’ll go to the evans sharing that they arrested the killer. now that the case was done, lucas was done, he can go home and rest and such. 

“it was great working with you, agent” said jj, smiling, lucas felt nice that he probably got to know a bit of jj, she seemed sweet and nice. lucas shared with jj that he also enjoy working with jj. the others also thanked lucas for helping them on the case, hotch shared he was happy with the discussion lucas made to catch the unsub.

“so now you’re all done” clemson’s voice once again crept up against lucas’ neck, the tense caused lucas to feel unease, especially when clemson put his arm around lucas who quickly removed clemson’s arm from his shoulder. before lucas snaps back as always, reid cut in

“is everything alright?”

“it’s none of your business, agent, you finished the case, go on home”

reid looked down slightly, lucas frowned before looking clemson in the eye and corrected him: “i’m pretty sure agent hotchner introduced him as dr.reid, so maybe have some respect”

clemson glared at lucas before walking away.

“something happened right?”

lucas didn’t respond to reid, tugging on his sleeves slightly, before telling reid it was nothing, before reid can comment back, hotch called over lucas, who felt unsure why and walked over to him.

“yes?”

“i spoke with your superintendent, and i am jumping into the water too soon, but how would you like to join our BAU team in virginia?”

“i’m sorry what?”

hotch went on to explain that he believed lucas showed some promise on the case, that his superintendent believed that lucas was ready to move on from his post in new york. it was a great opportunity, but he couldn’t, his life was here, and by his life; lucas meant ben.

“agent hotch, thank you for the opportunity, but i’m going to have to decline”

“may i ask why?”

“well it’s not that i couldn’t, it just i could but i won’t, i have something here that’s worth ten times more than going to virginia” lucas said, hotch asked what would that something be, before lucas could answer, he heard his name being called.

“lucas!” it was ben, probably here pick lucas up and head off home, at this, hotch took notice of why lucas didn’t want to make the change to virginia. the young agent turned back to hotch and before he can answer, hotch pulled out his card and said: “if you ever change your mind, please don’t hesitate to call”

lucas took the card into his hands and placed it into his pocket before thanking hotch and wishing the team and him a safe trip home.

ben smiled as lucas embraced him into a hug, when they pulled away, ben kept his arm wrapped around lucas as they walked out of the station. walking out, ben asked what was lucas talking about with hotch.

“it’s nothing, he offered me the chance to go to the virginia branch and join the BAU team, i turned it down, i got everything here, especially you,” lucas said. ben let out a small smile and made no comment after that till they got home.

in the evening, lucas was fast asleep in the bed, ben, however rummaged through lucas’ suit and found the card that hotch gave him that had hotch’s number. ben grabbed the house phone, and dialed the number and headed to an isolated part of the apartment to make the call.

“agent hotchner speaking, who is this?”

“um...hi, yes, you probably don’t know me, but my name is ben jameson, i’m lucas’ fiance, i was wondering if i can talk to you about the opportunity you talked about with lucas…”

the following morning, lucas and ben had a day off, so they decided to make a picnic basket and head to the park. lucas noticed ben was acting different since last night and he wasn’t sure why, but it was their day off so he didn’t think too much about it. as they packed their stuff up for the park, ben kept checking his phone.

“um...ben, you good over there?”

“yes, i’m fine, i was just wondering how you are”

lucas furrowed his eyebrows before ben hastily pushed them to the car and asked if they were ready to go, lucas just nodded slowly, nodding that he was ready to go. they began driving, and then a hour went by, lucas started to take note and wondered if ben want to get out of town or what?

another hour went by and they arrived at a train station, lucas was confused, he looked back at ben who seemed that he didn’t want to look at lucas right now. what was going on? what was ben doing?

“why are we at the train station? are we parking the car here and heading off walking or?”

“you’re on the 4:25 to virginia, and you’re gonna meet up with emily prentiss and she’s going to help you settle in with her till you find your own place and…”

“wait a minute, what?” lucas asked, overlapping with ben.

ben let out a sigh, before confessing: “i made a call last night to that hotch guy, you’re taking that opportunity in virginia, you’re gonna live the best years of your life because you’re doing what you do best”

lucas was having trouble trying to find words to respond, what was ben doing? if he was going to be with prentiss does that mean ben wasn’t coming? ben kept going on and lucas needed to take this chance for himself.

“ben, you’re telling me that i’m going to virginia alone to take this chance, you’re wrong”

“damn it, lucas, i’m doing this for you! you have made some many sacrifices for me, i need to do one thing for you and this is for you!”

lucas kept shaking his head saying that he wasn’t leaving ben alone in new york city because of the fact that he wouldn’t go anywhere without ben because ben was his everything. ben cupped lucas’ face and had him face him

“do you love me?”

“of course i love you!”

“do you wanna marry me?”

“yes!”

“are you 100% sure?”

lucas stammered, unsure to find the words, was he 100% sure? the look in his eyes gave ben his response, which meant that lucas wasn’t entirely sure about marrying him, it made sense because they had been engaged for six years at this point, the couple were not sure about anything.

ben let out a quiet sigh before saying: “you’re going to do amazing things and have experiences that you need to do without me”

“are you breaking up with me?”

“i’m setting you free…”

lucas lost it, he started crying, all the emotions were coming up, ben shared that he was doing this for lucas, that setting him free would mean lucas can get out there and see other experiences, other parts of the world.

“no, i’m not going not without you!”

“i can’t go with you lucas!”

“then i’ll stay here! i’ll go wherever you’re going!”

ben felt his heartache, that’s the thing about lucas, he had a huge heart willing to do anything for ben, and that's why he was setting lucas free. this had to be for him all on lucas’ own, ben got out of the car and walked around to get lucas’ luggage before going to the passenger side and opening the door for lucas.

they walked silently to the platform, lucas held ben’s hand tightly, not willing to let it go till they arrived at the train. the walk was quiet, ben wanted to say ‘you know what? forgot it, don’t go to virginia’ but he knew this was all for lucas. they got closer to the train to virginia, lucas grip tighten more not wanting to let go.

lucas stood in front of the doors, knowing if he looked back or even glanced at ben, he was not going to go through. ben gave one last squeeze to lucas before letting go of him and lucas boarded onto the train. the young agent, trailed down the aisle till he found a seat. when the train started moving, lucas looked out the window and saw ben running after the train. and that caused lucas to lose it, he covered his mouth, attempting to not make a scene.

lucas wanted to shout ‘stop the train!’ but he knew that a) it wouldn’t work b) if lucas stepped off, there was no chance of him going back on.

four hours later, lucas arrived at quantico, virginia; emily stood at the platform, watching the train go at a stop. when lucas came down with his luggages, emily quickly helped him to her car. there was no words exchanged by them. emily tried to talk but realized that lucas was not in the mood whatsoever to talk about it.

lucas would listen to emily talk about the ground rules at her house, and emily was nice enough to let him stay with her so he didn’t want to seem rude so he nodded.

arriving at emily’s place, lucas dropped his bags in his room, and sat down. emily shared that she was going to order some food and left the young man alone.

lucas felt like he was still crying, maybe his heart was crying for him, but all he knows that ben did what he had to do for lucas, and even though it hurt; lucas will realize soon enough how much ben loved him.


	5. 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐣𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> lucas takes on his first case at the new location, but having a hard time adjusting.

after a week, lucas starts at the BAU, he accompanies emily, during the last two weeks before he joined, lucas was searching for apartment spaces, (emily had recommended some for him). arriving at the BAU, as emily and lucas step off the elevator, lucas stops and looks around the area, he was either nervous or just was not ready for this new change.

"you coming, cortez?"

lucas slowly nodded as he made his way towards the doors, to enter the room. the young agent notices erin strauss, waiting at her door for lucas. as lucas made his way over, he examined the room to see how the hell was he gonna fit in here? people claim in the real world are nothing like high school, or so they say.

when lucas entered strauss' office, to see her already sitting at her desk.

"agent cortez, glad to see you here, how are you settling into virginia? how's ben, last i heard you two were engaged"

"with all due respect, i would like to skip the small talk"

strauss kept a stern face, before going over everything that lucas knew because he was just transferring from new york to virginia. strauss went over who was on the team: "which, of course you most likely know who they are considering they worked with you back in new york"

lucas nodded before strauss said the empty desk was his; lucas thanked her and left the room. the anxiousness in his stomach, it reminded him of his first day at the bureau in new york and nice ben was when he first came home.

_when lucas arrived back at his apartment, he smelled a familiar pasta sauce, when he entered the kitchen; lucas found ben cooking chicken alfredo. a small smile appeared on lucas face asking what was ben doing_

_"it was your first day, i know how nervous you get on the first day, so i wanted you feel at ease when you come home"_

_lucas felt the tears come up, he set his bag down and walk over and hugged ben tightly._

_"i love you so much"_

_"i love you more"_

"..tez? cortez?" lucas looked up to see agent hotch looking down at him; lucas asked if everything was alright, hotch replied, he should be asking lucas that question. which confused lucas but realized he was probably crying, he quickly responded that he was fine and looked away wiping his tears.

hotch shared that they were briefing in a few minutes about a new case and if lucas needed a few more minutes, he indicated where the bathroom was and left. lucas felt embarrassed about crying on the first day, then again everyday felt like high school even after high school.

once lucas washed his face from tears, he headed up to the room where they briefed a new case. when lucas entered it was like back in new york, the team was waiting for him, lucky for him they haven't even started yet.

"everyone, you remember agent cortez, from new york, i asked him to join our team" hotch said, re-introducing lucas to everyone. the agent gave a small smile before taking a seat between jj and emily as they went over the case.

lucas tried not to zone off, he couldn't show hotch or the others that he was incapable of being part of their team. once they went over the case, hotch said "wheels up in 30"

the new comer, had a confused look on his face before look over at emily who said she'll explain the phrase as they walked out.

apparently 'wheels up in 30' meant the jet would be leaving in 30 minutes. lucas had his things ready, but his mind was off elsewhere, he kept looking at the computer, zone off; till he felt a touch on his shoulder. it was spencer, he felt bad for interrupting lucas, he looked back up at spencer and asked what was up.

"just letting you know, we're all boarding onto the jet"

"okay, let's go then"

spencer led the way to the jet, he kept glancing over at lucas seeing that he seemed distracted. it seemed that he was thinking about something. the young agent felt spencer looking at him, which caused lucas to look back at him.

"everything alright, doc?"

"y-yeah, sorry"

boarding onto the plane, spencer entered first, when lucas entered he tried to sit alone but close enough to the group when they started talking about the case. most times, lucas would be more outgoing but since his breakup with ben, it's been taking a toll on him.

the case involved the abduction of multiple kids around the area, only one returned back but not alive, the seven-year-old boy's index finger was sent to the family. it was sickening, and disgusting (lucas almost threw up at the sight of the bloody finger). so far, they have no leads who it was. it was a possibility that the person taking the kids was a familiar face or someone who seems trustworthy to kids.

"who usually seems trustworthy to kids?"

"lots of people, priests, teachers, guidance counselors, neighbors, officers, the list can go on" lucas butted it, getting an agreement tone from the team, it was most likely the first lucas has spoken the whole day.

after discussing a bit about the case, emily walked over to lucas and sat across from him.

"hey, how's it going?"

lucas shook his head looking out the window, emily can tell that something was bothering lucas, but right now they had a case so they couldn't distract from the case, but emily made a mental note to check up on lucas later.

the case was in texas, which did not help lucas more because ben originated from texas before moving to nevada. hotch had one group go talk to the victim's family while the other goes to the police station to talk about the missing victims so far.

hotch assigned, prentiss, reid and cortez to go to the victim's house, although lucas made a mental note that he hoped to go to the police station, he was not in a mood to talk to parents right now.

most of the kids and their family lived in a suburban neighborhood, when they arrived at the house, prentiss walked up to the door first, which revealed a woman with short brown hair, she had a baby in her arms; the woman observed the agents before opening the door.

"yes? can i help you?"

"hi, mrs.fairfield, i'm agent prentiss, this is dr.reid and agent cortez, we just have a few questions if it's alright with you about your son"

lucas noticed the lady clenched her jaw, which meant she had to be the mother whose kid's finger got sent to her. the frustration inside lucas lowered a little bit for the sympathy; mrs.fairfield opened the door and let them in. as they walked in, lucas looked at the pictures of the victim, it must've been heart wrecking and all lucas wanted to do was find out who the unsub was and beat him up to the pulp for it.

"do you remember when was the last time you saw your son?" asked prentiss. mrs.fairfield shared that her son, tyler wanted to ride his bike to the park nearby, and when an hour went by, both her husband and her went out to look for him.

"we asked everyone around if they had seen tyler, because we're a close-knit community, they all said no and then...." mrs.fairfield began to sob, a silence fell over to the room. lucas' frustration level started to go even more down, it wasn't fair to the mom if lucas snapped out at her.

reid asked if there was anyone that mrs.fairfield believed could've taken her son, which she shook her head shake as a response because of the fact that she didn't believe it would never happen in their neighborhood.

lucas noticed some pictures of tyler in a scout outfit, he didn't think too much about it. as soon as they finished questioning, they thanked her for helping them before leaving and heading to meet up with the others. walking to the car, lucas notice a man staring at them a bit too intensely, he glared back at him, wondering why the hell was he watching them.

in the evening, the team settled in at a nearby hotel; everyone had their own room which to lucas' happiness, was best. once lucas was in his room, he dropped his bags next to the desk and then sat on his own bed. the young agent, looked over at his phone before grabbing it and calling ben's numbers

**_"hey, it's me, i know you're not gonna talk to me for a while and not because you hate me but you just don't want to put me in pain and i understand that, but i'm in texas right now for a case and it reminded me of how you use to live in texas before moving to nevada...it's my first day being a transfer and all, anyways i remember how you would always make me feel better after a first day because i would always feel anxious....that's all, i hope you're well"_ **

lucas hung up and sat there for a few more moments before sitting on his bed for a few more moments before the door was knocked on.

"come in"

the door open to reveal emily, who gave him a concern look before saying that next time lucas should get up and check the door being an FBI and all, he should know.

"well, i'm not in the best mood right now"

"kind of why i wanted to talk to you, you've seen off since we've arrived, even before that"

lucas sigh, before bringing his knees up to his chest, emily sat at the end of the bed and asked once more what was going on with lucas. the latino believed that there was no point of keeping it all locked in; ben always said that it was best to release his feelings instead of swallowing them and keeping it deep down.

"whenever it was the first day of anything for me, ben would always make me feel better at the end of the day; first day of senior year, he took me out to our favorite diner after school, first day at college, he called me and let me talk about me day, first day at the bureau in new york, cooked me my favorite dish...and now i'm all alone in virginia, with new group of people and i know i'm not alone alone but you know" by the end of it, lucas was crying.

emily felt terrible, she grabbed hold of his head and just let him cry and cry and cry; she didn't know exactly how to feel but she felt terrible for lucas.

after a while, lucas told emily, he appreciated her listening to him but lucas wanted to take a shower after a long day.

lucas did not end up sleeping that night, it was almost one in the morning, jeopardy was currently playing on the tv but it was the last thing lucas could care for. so instead, lucas went ahead and take a walk around the floor, hopefully he wasn't making too much disturbance to anyone. it was awfully quiet, the only thing up were some people having fun. stopping at a vending machine, lucas got himself a coke then walked back to his room rather slowly.

although, he enjoyed being here on the case, it was still hard for him to adjust considering everything he went through. lucas scrunched up his nose, feeling the urge to sneeze. getting closer to the room, he notice a man around his age maybe older getting out his room, when the man passed lucas for some reason the young agent got weird vibes from him.

however, it's midnight and lucas was not up to profile anyone right now, so instead of drinking the soda he got, lucas placed it on the desk and flopped on the bed getting a good night's rest, for at least five hours. 


	6. 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐩 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> with the case wrapping up, lucas comes to term that this was his new life, in virignia and with this team including a late night talk with someone

the following morning, the team continued on trying to find the unsub, but they woke up with terrible news that another kid was abducted out of his bed though, which was different from how the unsub had been taking kids. the team met up at the police station and went over how they should move forward, especially with how they were going to have jj talk with the press about this.

“do you ever think that maybe the unsub is someone who went through a rough patch in their life recently and is tearing the family apart because of this?”

“okay, but what about the severed finger?” hotch asked

“a message saying: ‘back off or else i take your kid’s other finger or even a different message saying that they shouldn’t mess with him and this is what he’s capable of” lucas replied looking at hotch who seemed that he agreed that could be one of the ideas. lucas looked over a picture that mrs.fairfield shared with them of her son, when examining the picture, he quickly noticed something that the three other kids in the picture were wearing the same scout uniform that tyler had.

lucas rushed over to the others explaining about what he found in the picture that the other kids were also part of this scout troop, but it was a possibility that the unsub had access to both girl scouts and boy scouts.

“so we’re looking for someone who has a close relation to both troops, someone that the kids trust enough to go to” morgan shared, jj had gotten back from the press hoping that it will give them something if someone calls the FBI hotline. morgan called garcia to see if she can find anyone that matches what they believe the unsub is.

garcia shared she found someone named jameson rennings, sharing that he had recently got divorced with his wife, got no visit days, anything with his kid, and had a criminal record that showed he got into a bar fight a month ago. jameson was sort of in charge of both boys and girls scout in charge of registration and such.

“did garcia get his address?”

“sure did, this is garcia we’re talking about” morgan said, writing down the address that garcia found. lucas then asked if there was a picture of rennings, the sheriff interrupted saying that rennings’ picture was in last week’s newspaper. lucas thanked him before going over to the pile of last week’s newspaper and found the picture of a man with the caption underneath saying: “jameson rennings”

lucas gasped quietly before running back to group sharing he saw this man, at the hotel they were staying at last night.

“he was coming out of his room, and i didn’t think much of it because it was like one in the morning, but it didn’t seem like he was sleeping the night because he got all his clothes on like he was about to leave, or something”

“morgan, go with prentiss and cortez to the hotel, everyone else with me” hotch ordered.

arriving at the hotel, lucas showed the picture of rennings and asked the receptionist if she had recently seen this man come in or out of the hotel, which the receptionist shared that she indeed had seen rennings recently but was not sure if he had left or came back.

“we need access to his room, is there an extra key we can use?” lucas asked, revealing his badge. the receptionist nodded before grabbing it and handing it over to lucas.

when they got rennings’ room, they knocked three times calling out his name, lucas offered the key to morgan who said he got something better than the key before kicking the door open. all three agents looked around everywhere, seeing that there was no sign of rennings anywhere

“he doesn’t even seem like he has a change of clothes, or even sleeps here, does he just sit here? is it a hideout?” prentiss asked, lucas shrugged his shoulders, they looked around for a few more moments before coming to a conclusion that rennings was not in here. morgan called hotch sharing at rennings was not at all in the hotel room, only some of his stuff.

they were told to meet at rennings’ place.

“you don’t think he just has all the kids under the basement in his house?” lucas asked, after the captured rennings, prentiss added they’ll have to find out once they interrogate him. as everyone went back to the car to head back to the police station. lucas didn’t move realizing something, the reason why rennings was at the hotel and not because he was staying there to hide out, it would seem too obvious.

lucas rush to a police car asking if they could take them to the hotel, rossi asked what was lucas doing, which cause lucas to reply that he was going back to the hotel, he might have missed something.  
“wait, till we get back to the station,” hotch said, lucas shook his head as he left the hotel.

lucas entered the hotel, asking about the basement or the ground floor of the hotel, the receptionist was good help once again, telling him where the ground floor was. lucas ran down the stairs, when he got to the ground floor, he looked around trying to see if he could see any kids.

the young agent, heard footsteps come down the stair, he turned around to see jj and a few police officers, she shared that she believed lucas needed some back up. the young man thanked jj before telling officers they needed to split up and find the kids. one of the officers found them in a corner all tied up, lucas let out a sigh of relief and feeling a pat on his back.

“you did it” jj said, lucas shook his head saying that they all did it as a team.

the case was done, the kids were return back to their families, tyler was taken to the hospital to get stitches and rennings was placed in custody, and all lucas wanted to do was sleep forever.

lucas arrived back at the apartment before prentiss, and tossed himself onto the bed, not wanting to move from his bed but he heard the door open and footsteps enter the house assuming it was emily. after a couple of minutes, the footsteps came upstairs, when they were close to lucas’ room, the lights got turned on.

“what do you want?”

“you want dinner?”

“fine, i’m only getting up because i’m hungry”

lucas followed emily down the stairs to see that it wasn’t just them for dinner, it was the rest of the team; lucas stopped mid-way before glaring at emily and saying: “next time warn me, you bum”

emily smiled before sharing that she knew that everyone was extremely tired from the case, but wanted to properly welcome lucas to the team , especially after his first case. lucas notice it was chinese food, and letting emily know that he is forever grateful for her

“i will apologize for calling you a bum” lucas added.

it was nice that emily thought of him, after a couple of drinks and chatting, lucas actually felt at ease and not so alone as before. just as everyone was leaving, jj and penelope stayed back to help clean up.

as lucas was throwing out the garbage, he heard his phone ring; lucas turn to the side and saw the caller ID.

ben

lucas’ stomach dropped, he wasn’t sure if he should answer or not, he made that phone call a day or so ago before he reached for the phone, jj took the phone out of his sight.

“you still have his number saved in your phone?”

“well when you are engaged to someone for six years you can talk” lucas said snatching the phone away from jj, he felt embarrassed by jj’s comment about keeping ben’s number after they broke up two weeks ago. jj took notice and realized her comment was not fair and apologized to lucas.

“you’re right, i shouldn’t talk, you loved him it’s not gonna be easy, i’m sorry” jj said

“it’s fine, i know it’s stupid but he was my first love after all”  
“what’s your thoughts on hugs?” penelope asked

“love hugs, prefer them over hand shakes”

“don’t tell that to reid, he’ll think otherwise,” jj joked as she pulled lucas into a group hug.

after jj and penelope left, lucas wished emily good night before going into his room, once he was in and knew that emily wouldn’t come in and interrupt; lucas grabbed his phone and listen to ben’s voicemail.

“hey, i hope virginia is treating you well, i know i usually make your first days the best of the best, but as you know we broke up, i still have your number saved...maybe that’s dumb, but i see you still have my number too, i hope you’re well lucas i love you i always will”

with that lucas shut his phone off and changed to get into bed.

the thing is lucas didn’t go to bed right away, he ended up reading his book, the lamp was on, lucas mind kept wandering off to ben, wondering if he’s okay and how the big city is treating him, especially now that lucas is in a whole different state.

lucas reached for his phone, and dialed a number but not ben’s

_**“it’s one am”** _   
_**“so why are you answering, doc?”** _   
_**“because i thought it was hotch calling about a case or jj”** _   
_**“well you thought wrong, i thought you were the genius, with the IQ of what again?”** _   
_**“184, no offense, but if this isn’t important, i’m going to hang up”** _   
_**“fine, but promise me one thing”** _   
_**“yes?”** _   
_**“tomorrow i wanna know if you can recite the entire periodic table, i once did it at a party, i was pretty impress with myself especially since i’m not a genius”** _   
_**“fine”** _   
_**“night, genius”** _

lucas hung up, before laying back on his bed, trying to sleep, his mind came with a thought before he brushed it away quickly believing it was nothing and his mind was getting the best of him at one am.


	7. 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐥 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐬

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> lucas continues his time at the BAU, with surprises but when it case comes along that had something to do with child abuse, prentiss, reid and lucas make their way to colorado

the next morning, lucas looked up at the ceiling, he didn't get any sleep till five am, especially after trying to find a periodic table and bring it to work today. lucas got out of his bed and decided to take a shower before heading downstairs.

once lucas finished his shower, and changed into his clothes for today, he headed downstairs to eat breakfast to see emily pouring herself a cup of coffee

"hey, question"

"what's up"

"did you bake muffins?"

lucas nodded his head, sharing that he was up at three am and decided to bake before pulling out the periodic table he had in his bag that he found around four-thirty. emily was worried about lucas' sleeping patterns, before the young agent rushed over to the fridge and pulled out a plate a brownies

"i also made brownies"

emily nodded, trying not to share her worries, before they headed out to go to work.

when they arrived, lucas head straight to jj's office, knocking on her door slightly, who looked up and told lucas to come in

"are you pregnant?"

jj stammered, before asking: "how do you know?"

"well, i'm not dumb, i saw you pour your drinks into other cups, does the other team not know?" lucas asked

jj let out a smile before explaining, that everyone knew, they found out at their last mission in new york ("and not the one where we met you, it was before that" jj clarified), and saying that she didn't want to tell lucas because she was getting married to will ("my fiance") and didn't want to rub it in lucas' face

"don't be, i know i was engaged for six years, you deserve to be happy, also i don't know what your take is on brownies, but i baked you a plate," lucas said smiling, jj thanked him, before sharing that will would most likely eat them more than her. lucas nodded before heading out and saying congratulations to jj once more.

lucas saw reid at his desk, talking to prentiss and morgan about who knows what, and for some reason he chickened out on approaching him about their conversation last night, was it embarrassment? high change. lucas rushed to the bathroom, and stayed there for a few moments, trying to catch his breath.

this had to be because, lucas was anxious that maybe spencer forgot about the thing, it was in fact one in the morning when he called spencer. the door to the bathroom opened, and footsteps came in, having lucas not think too much of it till he heard a voice: "cortez?"

it was spencer, the young agent felt his stomach turn at the sound of spencer's voice. lucas unlocked the bathroom stall before opening it and facing spencer, giving him a small smile. spencer asked about the periodic table that they talked about earlier.

"you-um, yeah it's at my desk" lucas said before approaching the sink to wash his hands, before leaving with spencer out of the bathroom. lucas let out a yawn, which reid share that he wasn't surprise lucas is tired, especially because he had called reid at one in the morning

"jokes on you, i didn't sleep till five"

"what? why?"

"because i ended up baking muffins and brownies and then after that i went looking for the periodic table for today"

reid had a confusing look on his face, before they arrived at the desk. where lucas pulled out the periodic table from his messenger bag.

"what did you say about a party?"

"it was at some frat party, i got really drunk and sung the periodic table song, i was actually impressed because i hate chemistry"

emily walked by reid's desk to see lucas checking off something on a paper, which she asked what they were doing and lucas replied that he wanted to see if reid can name every element on the periodic table.

"you think he can't?"

"no, i just wanna see if he can"

emily nodded, trying to understand but shrugged it off before walking back to her desk. lucas shared with reid, he was half way done. just as reid was gonna name another element, lucas' phone on his desk rang, which confused the agent considering he just started working here. lucas excused himself from reid and headed to his desk, picking up the phone.

_**"hello?"** _

_**"luke?"** _

the voice and nickname made lucas cringe realizing who it was - ben's younger sister, pamela

" _ **pam, hey, can i call you after work, i'm busy"**_

_**"well, it's kind of an emergency"** _

_**"okay, pam, what's up?"** _

_**"well, i'm kind of in trouble with my mom and dad right now because my grades have been slipping in college and i just want to know if i can come over and then you tell ben what's up so he doesn't get to lecture-y on me"** _

right, there was a chance, ben didn't share with his family that they had broken up, and he hates to tell pamela through the phone, especially if ben wasn't ready to tell them. so lucas did the next dumbest thing ever.

_**"sure, but i'm not in new york right now, i'm on a case, but i'll call ben to let him know you're on your way to his school"** _

_**"omg! thank you so much luke! you're the best"** _

the call went dead, indicating pamela had hung up and lucas was now mentally hitting himself. lucas took a deep breath before grabbing his cell, and heading away from his desk to call ben in an isolated area.

the phone rang at least three times before it went to voicemail, lucas groaned before calling ben's school to see if they can transfer him to ben's classroom phone.

luckily they were able to patch lucas through.

" _ **mr. jameson, here"**_

_**"it's lucas"** _

_**"i-i'm in class, couldn't you call my phone?"** _

_**"i did! listen this is important, so i'm assuming you didn't tell your family about us, because pamela called me here! how? i don't know, but apparently your parents and her are in a fight and she wants to stay over for a bit, and i told her to see you at your school"** _

ben responded that although he appreciated not telling pamela about them, he wished lucas could've not sent pam to his school. lucas snapped back saying what was he supposed to say considering that lucas was in a whole state over.

_**"fine, whatever, bye"** _

lucas hung up before kicking the wall, he wished that he didn't pick up the phone and talked to pam. it felt like a long ass day, even though it's only twelve, lucas wanted to go back on a case already but so far they haven't received anything. at least that's what he thought till hotch called him specifically, prentiss, reid and lucas; the overall was that child services has been receiving calls from a certain area about a man being inappropriate towards younger girls, and they need help from the fbi about getting into the location without setting anything off, especially since no one knew much about the location.

before leaving, lucas called ben, luckily receiving no response, so he left a voicemail sharing that if pamela wanted to talk to him that he was occupied with a case right now, and that he'll call her as soon as possible.

it was weird that it was only three people on the jet, lucas looked over the case, prentiss shared that they had a recording of the call but weren't exactly sure who was calling and from where. lucas felt chills go down his spine, he hated adults who harm child, and all he wanted to do was punch them in the face.

_**"he comes into my room and lies with me, he says it's God's will, i'm only 15. and i'm not the only one! please help me!"** _

hearing that made lucas feel sick to the stomach, he took in a deep breath before he lied back against the chair, getting a notice from prentiss

"you okay?"

"just a lot going on right now"

"you wanna talk?"

lucas shook his head saying it was a lot to unload, he just wanted to capture the unsub and beat the shit out of him, prentiss let out a smile before settling back in her seat as well before they arrived in colorado.

the trio met up with child services and made their way to where the call was made, prentiss asked about the phone call, which the child services believed it was a call about the church leader - ben cyrus, but he has no criminal record whatsoever or record at all, it was like he didn't exist.

"how does someone have no record at all?" lucas asked

"it happens"

lucas settled back against the car, feeling suddenly nauseous, reid looked over at him asking if he was okay, to which lucas responded with a thumbs up; reid patted his knee before focusing back at the conversation at the first part of the scene.

lucas felt his heart jump, before biting the inside of his cheek, before he heard that most likely cyrus would not be okay with the FBI because him and his group would automatically be defensive. lucas was handed a fake child services id with his same name, getting closer, nancy shared that she'll approach the person at the steps first.

"hi, we're looking for benjamin cyrus"

"well, you found him"

nancy went on about the reason why they're here, cyrus made a comment about how people think they're not good people because they're not like other people so that's why the person called. lucas notices the solar panels which surprised, reid seems to notice them too and question cyrus about it as lucas walked up the steps and followed prentiss and nancy into the school.

prentiss started talking to jessie and her mom, the young girl shared what they did at school and throughout the ranch, which lucas asked if anyone had ever gotten off the ranch, which her mom intervened saying she brought jessie here at the age of two.

"you're probably wondering why we're here, we received a call alleging that an adult male member of your church is having inappropriate relations with younger women?"

"you're talking about cyrus"

the three shared a look while reid asked jessie what makes her think they're talking about cyrus

"is it inappropriate for a husband to share a bed with his wife?"

"his huh?" lucas responded

jessie explained that cyrus was indeed her husband, that she was honored to bare his children, reid cut in and said that for jessie to be married supposedly, she was to have parental consent, which prentiss answered that her mother gave the consent.

lucas glared a bit at the mother, who would give consent for a 15 year old to marry an older man?

suddenly all the men of the church barged into the classroom, telling the women and children to get up, nancy and the three undercover fbi agents followed the procedure, confused on what was going on. apparently there was a raid going on, everyone was told to go down to the basement of the church.

when they were down in the basement, there was loads of guns, which was surprising considering garcia checked with state police. all the women and children were down in the basement, and above them was the state police trying to get in, and firing and cyrus and his group were firing back.

nancy said she was an officer of state, thinking there was a possibility she could talk to them, prentiss told her it was dangerous with all the shooting, but nancy shook her head and made her way out there.

when it came to a small location with lots of people, lucas had trouble thinking straight, he felt his hands getting sweaty and his anxiety rising up; the young agent sat down and hid his face in his hands.

"you okay?"

"i feel sick"

reid sat down next to him, he didn't touch him or anything, he just sat there. lucas once again bit the inside of his cheek before hearing reid say: "you like baking a lot because of serotonin from chocolate based sweets"

"that and because baking makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, like out of a movie or something"

reid nodded.

the state police pulled back, and soon the women and children were taken out of the tunnel; the only people left were prentiss, reid and lucas.

lucas still felt sick, but it was possible from the headache he is having, is causing him to feel sick.

"alright there, cortez?"

"why are you gonna ask someone if they're alright if they don't alright" lucas snapped back and quickly apologized to prentiss for his tone.

suddenly everyone was sitting in the mass area, prentiss, reid and cortez were placed in a part of the rows, cyrus was bringing someone in, prentiss lightly kicked cortez who turned to see rossi, which meant that he was mostly likely going to bug the place. as soon as rossi left, cyrus started talking to the others, it seemed like a regular mass but yet with more intensity. the three agents, observed the others, prentiss pointed out jessie's behavior and body language with cyrus

"she practically worships him"

"no wonder she made that call"

the three also notice how jessie's mom would be between cyrus and jessie, as a way of inserting herself, which confused lucas considering she was the one who gave consent for them to marry.

cyrus had everyone drink something, before announcing they have drank poison and would all be going to heaven together, lucas covered his mouth in shock, as he watched some people crying, and then looked towards cyrus who was whispering to the man at the front

"the drinks are not poison, he just wants to see who's loyal and who's not" reid pointed out. of course, reid was correct, cyrus announced that the drink was not in fact poison and they were all safe.

"the minute we wrap this case up, i'm beating up this man" lucas whispered loud enough for reid and prentiss to hear


	8. 𝐚 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭 𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐬

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> after the case wraps up, lucas decides to do something bold

somehow cyrus figured the FBI was here, he had his men put reid, prentiss and lucas in a room, and when cyrus came in he asked which one of them was the fbi agent. all three of them shared a look before reid asked why he thought one of them was an fbi agent.

"God will forgive me for what i must do, so which one of you is?"

cyrus walked close to reid, before lucas could say anything, prentiss stood up and claimed she was the FBI agent. lucas glanced over at reid who feared for what cyrus would do to prentiss. when cyrus started hitting prentiss, lucas couldn't help but get up to stop cyrus but was stopped by his men saying if lucas did anything, they would shoot him.

after cyrus was done with prentiss and told his men to take her elsewhere, lucas spoke out: "how do you know there's not more than one FBI agent"

cyrus stopped in his tracks and looked back at lucas as did prentiss giving him the look that read: 'what are you doing?'

"i'm assuming your the second?"

lucas slowly nodded before cyrus told his men to take lucas as well; they shoved lucas to move along with prentiss. the pair was placed in a room upstairs, where soon jessie's mom came into the room to tend to prentiss' wounds.

"you should've told cyrus, who you were, he predicted that satan's armies would come and lay siege on us"

lucas asked prentiss if she was alright, the agent slowly nodded her head before she asked why did lucas expose himself. the young agent shared that he couldn't let prentiss go alone, which he added that it was stupid of him because he ended up leaving reid alone. as soon as jessie's mom left, lucas let out a sigh, he asked prentiss if she was sure she was alright.

"you keep asking me the same question"

"now you know how i feel" lucas joked, prentiss looked at lucas before saying: "i know it's not the right time, but i doubt they're gonna let us out of here anytime soon till we get an signal or something, can you tell me what's been going on?"

lucas responded that he'll talk to her after the case.

lucas and prentiss ended up being put in the chapel with the others, reid approached them before he could speak, prentiss cut him off telling him that she was alright. lucas notice cyrus was releasing certain people, which he pointed out to reid and prentiss that he was letting out those who did cry at the "poisoning"

"those of you that are standing, please collect your belongings, and report to the front hallway immediately"

prentiss and lucas were back again in the room and were tied up, at some point, lucas noticed prentiss sticking her foot near the window and he hissed at her saying what she was doing.

"trust me!"

"okay"

prentiss was speaking saying that if the team was going to come to save everyone to let her and lucas know so they can get the women and children down to the basement but the team had to let them know their coming.

a red dot appeared on the wall, whomever was flashing it used morse code to communicate saying that they were coming at 3am, prentiss heard someone coming upstairs so she went ahead and told whomever was listening that someone was coming.

prentiss put her leg down as soon as the door open, jessie's mom came in with water for the both of them, prentiss shared that the FBI was going to come in and save them and stop cyrus and for jessie's mom to bring all the women and children downstairs to the basement so they are safe till the FBI comes and takes them out.

jessie's mom sigh, it seem that she had given up hope before saying confirming to terms that she was the one that made the 911 call so they can take jessie away from cyrus because she wasn't the first person who was married to cyrus there was other girls but no one was allowed to talk about it.

"and so when she asked for my consent, i wanted to just take her and run. but i was afraid she wouldn't leave him"

"you wanted us to take her" lucas shared before adding that with the FBI coming at 3am, this was her chance to get jessie away from cyrus. before prentiss and lucas can get another word in, jessie's mom left. lucas let out a disappointing sigh, prentiss had hope that jessie's mom would do as they said, and if prentiss had hope so did lucas.

lucas didn't know what the time was but at some point jessie's mom came back and untying both of them letting them know that she got the women and children down to the basement after seeing that cyrus was going to commit mass suicide. lucas asked for reid, to which jessie's mom reply that he was in the chapel with cyrus but they didn't have time, it was 2:45, as they arrived downstairs, all the women and children started piling in. lucas told everyone to go as deep in the tunnel as they can, just as they did, lucas heard commotion between jessie and her mom, and at the same time morgan and the time barging in to let everyone out.

"jessie!" her mom shouts after her but morgan stops jessie's mom saying that he'll get her, as everyone starts leaving, with prentiss leading the way, lucas followed behind morgan before he stopped him.

"where do you think you're going?"

"i'm coming with you, spencer is with cyrus and-"

"no, go outside"

"but-"

morgan shook his head, he had a point, lucas gun was taken from him and he was practically unarmed so he headed outside waiting with the others, although lucas was showered with 'how are you' and 'are you okay?', he was more concerned about spencer right now and not anyone else.

after few moments, the chapel exploded, whomever was in there let the bomb explode regardless. lucas ran to the steps of the chapel, yelling out for reid and morgan, having regrets that he didn't go with morgan. soon both of their figures appear, signaling that they were alive.

lucas ran up to reid and hugged him tightly; reid was surprised by the hug, while morgan pat reid's back before heading to the team. when lucas pulled away, he looked at reid for a minute, he felt the urge to do something but stepped away from reid before saying that he was glad to see him well.

they arrived back in virginia, after making sure the women and children and anyone else who survived were safe and sound. lucas was finishing up at his desk before his cell phone ring. lucas looked at it to see it was ben calling him. the young agent let out a groan before answering the phone.

**_"hey"_ **

**_"i've been trying to call you, where have you been? pamela wants to talk to you"_ **

**_"now you know how i feel! plus i left you a message saying that i was on a case and things got wrapped up"_ **

**_"okay, i'm sorry, here's pamela"_ **

who knew over a breakup would cause lucas and ben to constantly fight.

**_"luke?"_ **

**_"hey, pam"_ **

**_"i just wanted to say thank you for talking to ben about this, also ben told me what happened, he hasn't told our parents but yeah...i just wanna say, he still loves you but he's totally doing this for the best of you"_ **

**_"i know, and you're welcome pam, i'm always happy to help regardless that ben and i are no longer together"_ **

when lucas hung up after talking to pamela, he looked over to see reid getting ready to leave as well. the young agent called out to spencer before jogging over to walk with him.

"you're still here?"

"yeah, i was just talking to ben's sister"

"you still talk to ben? after everything?"

lucas said pamela is the reason, otherwise, he probably wouldn't be talking to him but then decided to confess to spencer and said: "remember our case in texas with the kids getting abducted?"

spencer nodded, lucas shared he left ben a voicemail because it was his first day and felt alone without the comfort of ben. spencer nodded in agreement, he kind of wish that lucas didn't talk to ben every again but he kept that to himself.

"spencer..."

"yeah?"

lucas tugged spencer's sleeve to him facing lucas; spencer was confused on what lucas was doing, but lucas knew what he was doing and wasn't sure how to control it. the agent leaned in and pressed his lips against spencer. after a while lucas pulled away, he looked at spencer who seemed to be in complete shock.

"lu-"

"i have to go" lucas left running down the stairs and heading to meet emily in the car, when he got in, emily asked what happened, lucas shook his head, his face was redder than ever. emily shrugged and drove off to their apartment.

lucas sat in the living room before emily came in and asked once more what was going on. the young agent, let out everything that had been happening between her and ben today before adding what happened between her and reid.

"well technically, i kissed him and he just stood there"

"i'm still not over how _you_ kissed reid!"

lucas grabbed the couch pillow and screamed into it, before saying something about not wanting to get in trouble with strauss about kissing another agent because it was against the rules. emily assured her that reid was most likely not to tell, adding that garcia was dating another tech analyst.

"what?"

"yeah she's dating someone at work"

"i thought she was dating morgan"

"everyone does"

lucas let out a sigh before letting emily know that he was going to be at a reasonable time

"it's eleven"

"better than one am" lucas replied before heading upstairs to his room to rest, he said good night to emily once more and left to his room.

lucas' mind kept playing back to his kiss with spencer, his lips felt right and soft, different from ben's. at the thought of spencer's lips, caused lucas to turn red. so lucas brushed it off, and decided to go ahead and sleep. 


	9. 𝐫𝐞𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐧

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> after a couple of months working at the BAU, lucas' past come visits him one last time

it had been a few months since lucas has joined the BAU, spencer and him haven’t talked since then about the kiss but instead just talked as if it never happened. which lucas was grateful for; jj was also due soon to give birth, lucas had arrived early and saw jj in her office, realizing that he hasn’t talked to her in a while, he decided to check in. 

“hey you!” 

“geez, looks like you’re ready to pop” 

“ah yes, an amazing thought”

lucas laughed slightly before telling jj how it was going with searching for her replacement for her time during maternity leave. jj responded it has been going, believing that she thinks she found the perfect temporary replacement. 

“have you talked to ben since last time?” 

“no...and i haven’t talked to spencer at all about the kiss which is okay because i don’t want to” 

“and nothing awkward between you?” 

lucas shook his head, which jj half jokingly applauded him for. 

soon the office started getting busy, lucas was brought into hotch’s office, he wanted to check up on lucas’ with his first few months at the BAU since his transfer because he hadn’t before. lucas arrived at hotch’s office and knocked on his door lightly 

“cortez, come in and please shut the door” 

“of course” 

  
  


as soon as the door was shut behind lucas, derek approached spencer at his desk, who seemed occupied at the moment 

“so, am i sensing tension between you and cortez?” 

“morgan, leave reid alone” emily shouted from her desk. 

derek rolled his eyes adding that he was just curious and wondering if spencer made any moves.

“he’s probably still hung over his fiance, so don’t think too much,” spencer snapped. just as he said that, none other than ben walked through the door with a girl that seemed similar to him with long brown hair. spencer sat up, confused on why ben was here. in virginia. 

“ben?” emily said approaching the man, he seemed revealed seeing someone familiar 

“hey, emily, um this is my sister, pamela, um...is lucas here?” 

“uh, yeah he’s in a meeting right now but you can wait here, i’ll let him know as soon as he’s done” emily said taking ben and pamela to lucas’ desk before rushing off to jj’s office, who jumped at the sudden of her door opening 

“prentiss!” 

“ben is here” 

jj gasped before peeking out her window to see ben and his sister; jj turned back to emily asking who the girl was, which emily shared that it was ben’s sister. jj was confused on why after all these months, ben decided to show up. 

“your guess is as good as mine” 

“how do you think lucas will feel?” 

“i don’t know, he’s been doing so well, and had better sleeping patterns since then, he hasn’t been baking at four in the morning and he’s gotten out on some dates here and there” 

emily looked back out to see lucas at his desk, getting a hug from pamela; she excused herself from jj before going out there. jj wanted to go out there but she stayed to go over files instead. 

  
  


“ben...what are you doing here?” 

“well, i said it’s been a while since we heard from you! and decided why not go on a road trip to see luke!” pamela cheered, lucas bit the inside of his cheek before asking if they had checked into a hotel, before ben could answer, pamela cut him off saying they did but came straight to see lucas. 

“is it possible to meet you guys at your hotel, i’m at work” 

“yeah, of course, just give me a call” ben said before rushing pamela out. as soon as they left, lucas ran to the bathroom. the nauseous hit him, as he vomited into the toilet a couple of times before leaning against the stall. what was ben doing here? and why was he here? just as things were getting better, he decided to show up. 

  
  


lucas was out of it, his mind was elsewhere and by elsewhere he meant ben. when it was time to leave, lucas had called ben prior to see where they were staying while they were visiting lucas in virginia. emily offered to give him a ride but lucas shared that he was going to take a taxi and to not wait up for him. 

spencer was getting into his car when he noticed lucas getting into a taxi, most likely going to the hotel where ben is at; he felt a twist of jealousy perhaps, he wasn’t entirely sure. 

  
  


when lucas got to ben and pamela’s room, he was attacked with a hug by pamela, the young agent greeted her before greeting ben. there was awkward tension in the room before pamela said she was going to go downstairs and check out the pool. as soon as she left, ben sat down at the edge of his bed while lucas leaned against the desk. 

“i promise you this was pamela’s idea” 

“isn’t she suppose to be in college?” 

“thanksgiving break” 

“right” 

another brief of silent crept up on them again, lucas felt so unsure what to do or say right now before finally asking: “why did  _ you _ come?” 

“what and let pamela come alone?” 

“she’s twenty years old, old enough to travel alone, you didn’t come because you wanted to accompany her, you came for your own reason” 

“fine, you want me to say i came for you! because i did, okay i did, i miss you” 

lucas was shock by ben’s outcome comment, it was quiet once more, lucas sat down next to ben, no one said anything whatsoever. lucas wanted to just tell ben let’s get back together but he couldn’t, he didn’t want to or maybe he did. ben glanced over lucas before leaning in to kiss him. 

lucas was surprised at first before starting to kiss back, knowing where this was leading to. lucas broke from the kiss but that didn’t stop ben from leaving kisses on his neck 

“w-what about pamela?” 

“pretty sure she put a  _ do not disturb sign  _ as she left” 

lucas just nodded as they continued to get intimate with one another. 

  
  


around two am, lucas woke up naked in bed, pamela never did come back, probably rented out a room or something, he quietly and quickly got out, he grabbed his clothes and put them on before quickly leaving back to his apartment. 

as soon as he arrived, lucas dropped his jacket on the coat hanger before the lights got turned on in the living room, to reveal emily. lucas gave a small smile before asking why emily was up at two am. 

“well, i woke up at midnight and saw you weren’t home so, i ended up watching some movies and when i hear the footsteps, i turned off the lights and here we are” 

lucas let out a smile before emily asked what happened last night, which lucas shared when it was seven in the morning maybe he’ll share with emily, who rolled her eyes before repeating her question on what did lucas do. 

“i had sex with ben…” 

“LUCAS!” 

“don’t lucas me! emily, i was engaged to him for six years, you can’t expect all of that to go away in a few months like yes i went out on dates but i always thought of him” 

“what about when you kissed reid?” 

lucas stammered for a few moments before saying: “i felt alone! and spencer was there and...i really don’t wanna talk about this anymore, i’m going to bed” 

emily stayed quiet, as lucas walked up the stairs going to his room and went to sleep. 

the follow morning, lucas and emily headed to work, when they arrived in the parking lot, ben was there with pamela, emily said that lucas now had to face his consequences. 

“you’re making it sound like i’m gonna get killed, damn”

when the car came to a stop, emily and lucas got out; the young agent approached ben as emily left to go inside of the building. lucas didn’t get too close to ben, but he can tell that ben was upset and hurt. 

“so you left pretty early” 

“yeah…” 

lucas was not sure what ben wanted him to say or do, there was quiet between them.

“is there something you wanna talk about? because i have to get into work right now” lucas snapped, which got ben ticked off responding: “you’re mad at me? you left me early in the morning” 

“now you how it feels, i hated you for what you did to me at that train station, i  _ hated  _ you! but when i got here, i realized how much you love me, and how much it must’ve hurt letting me go like that and i thought this is what a man looks likes and loves” 

ben stayed quiet before lucas snapped saying he hated not talking to ben for months and wanted to hear from him an update at least 

“i was giving you space! your freedom” 

“i don’t need you to give me anything! i am a grown man, ben! i don’t need you to hide from me or keep me from what is supposedly wrong for me” 

ben scoffed, lucas asked why he was scoffing at the comment, to which ben replied what about reid. lucas stayed quiet for a few moments before stating that he was not with spencer at all, that they were co-workers, nothing more. 

“don’t you think i rather be with you! in new york or anywhere!” 

“well isn’t he like a genius or something? got three PhDs, graduated high school and college early, who am i? i barely graduated high school” 

lucas had it: “don’t you get it! no matter how many men i meet in my life, or many cases i have or how successful i get or whatever, when it comes to you! i’m always gonna be that moon eyed boy who you found so interesting at the first rehearsal for theater….you were the first boy who made me feel loved! and handsome and visible, you will always be my first love and i want  _ more _ than anything for you to be my last” 

few tears and sobs came between the two before lucas continued and said: “but this, i can’t do this anymore, we have to stop communicating, at least for a while...we’re done” 

ben shot his head up, hearing that both anger and sadness made him, he wasn’t sure how to feel. lucas was his everything, probably still is, and then he asked: “did he kiss you?” 

lucas gave him a confused look asking who ben was referring to; ben responded that he was talking about spencer. lucas looked down biting the bottom lip, just as he did, a car door slam shut both men turn their direction to see spencer approaching the building not noticing lucas nor ben. 

however, with all the sadness and anger, ben was blinded and charged towards spencer. 

“BEN! NO!” lucas ran and stood in front of ben, creating a barrier between him and spencer, who finally got gist on what was going on 

“did you kiss him!” 

spencer didn’t answer right away before lucas answered for him: “i kissed him! okay, i kissed him, spencer didn’t kiss me, he didn’t even kiss back! i kissed him because i was alone and didn’t know who to turn to and spencer was there…” 

ben looked at lucas and then back at spencer; lucas turned her back from ben before facing spencer 

“get inside, i’ll be there in a minute” 

“are you su-” 

“spence” 

as soon as spencer left, lucas turn back to ben. 

“so it’s over just like that?” 

“i’m sorry…” 

ben nodded as he approached lucas before kissing him on the forehead, just as he stepped away, morgan came out telling ben if there was any problem. 

“it’s alright, he was just leaving” 

ben took one more glance before leaving to his car with pamela, lucas took a deep breath before going inside the building with fresh tears on his face. 


	10. 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐬

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the team takes a case in las vegas, nevada which brings some memories to reid and lucas

the case was taken place in las vegas, being back home in nevada made lucas bit iffy considering he hasn’t been back home since he left for college; the case was around child abduction of young boys, the latest victim was a six year old boy named michael bridges, who was abducted recently, walking to a friend’s house but never showed up. the unsub would always call the family but doesn’t demand ransom but instead taunts telling them it’s their fault their kid got taken. they were about to start talking about the case when reid was asleep, so they decided to wait till reid woke up. 

a few moments later, reid was talking in his sleep, which caused jj to wake him up, when he did everyone was looking over at him, wondering if everything was okay. reid explained he had a dream they were on a case and jj’s baby was there. 

“you know reid, simple dream analysis, they say the baby in your dreams is you” 

“i don’t believe in dream analysis” reid responded to morgan 

“really? i do, they help me understand my dreams a bit more, unless i’m watching harry potter late at night and realize why i’m suddenly at hogwarts in my dreams” lucas said but reid rebuttal saying his dream probably is related to the case they’re working on now. 

when they arrived in las vegas, they arrived at the station while jj and hotchner headed to the family of michael bridges. morgan and reid headed to the morgue while the rest stayed back in the police station. 

for some reason, lucas couldn’t get it out of his head about ben, they haven’t talked like promised but it still hung something over him. prentiss took notice of this and decided to distract lucas with some work. 

“so the past few times kids had hair comb, nails clipped, no sign of sexual assault, the last victim ethan hayes was a bit more thinner than when he was abducted” lucas shared once prentiss got his attentions, rossi shared that this was a sign of remorse most likely. 

“okay but can we talk about how there is a phone call from the person, and that allows them to taunt what? they're bad parents because they let their kids walk to a friend’s house close by? because they leave them alone for a second? there are more reasons for a parent to be bad” lucas snapped before mumbling something about never wanting to be a parent. prentiss and rossi shared a look before rossi left the room for prentiss and lucas to talk 

“you okay? i know there’s a lot probably going on since your last talk with ben…” 

“yeah... i guess being in nevada brings back tons of memories of home” 

“oh you’re from nevada too?” 

“summerlin to be exact” 

prentiss nodded before asking if there was anything else bothering lucas. the young man shook his head saying it was a lot to unpack and it wasn’t the right time to talk about it that they needed to find out who the unsub was before the kid gets hurt. 

  
  


eventually the whole team ended up at the house of the bridges, hotch talked with the detective about possibly making the funeral of ethan hayes a public funeral to see if it was possible for the unsub to come back. when the team was at the house, they patched in garcia to have her trace the call once the unsub called the parents. 

lucas looked over at reid who looked back at him; the young latino gave reid a sympathetic smile before focusing back on the case when the phone suddenly rang, catching everyone’s attention. jj believed michael’s mom would be the best choice to talk with the unsub. when michael’s mom picked up the phone she did as jj said, try to humanize michael, try to play along with the unsub to keep them on the phone long enough for garcia to trace the call. 

“may i speak to michael?” asked his mom

“no, he knows how bad of a mother you are, your three minutes are up” the line went dead. hotch asked garcia if she was able to trace a call, but nothing it was a disposable cell, as the team discussed what to do next, lucas approached michael’s mom. 

“it’s probably not my place but i wanna let you know, you’re not a terrible mother, there’s nothing wrong with giving your kid a little independence, plus you’ve mentioned before that this isn’t his first time so don’t be so hard on yourself” lucas said, michael’s mother thanked him before making her way to hotch. 

morgan walked over to lucas informing him that hotch wanted him, lucas and reid to stay the night in case the unsub calls. lucas nodded, showing that he understood the order. 

  
  


around midnight or one am, lucas woke up to reid screaming, both morgan and lucas got up fast, trying to wake up reid, just as they did, both michael’s parents came downstairs and asked what was going on, lucas assured them that everything was fine. michael’s dad snapped back saying reid woke them up with his screaming. 

“you’re the FBI!” 

“you’re right, i’m really sorry” reid said, he felt embarrassed and ashamed because he was an agent and he wasn’t being professional. lucas gave him a sympathetic look as the parents walked back upstairs. once the parents were upstairs, morgan asked reid if everything was okay; reid just shook his head and brushed it off. 

“spence, what’s up?” lucas said now sitting across from him, but once again, reid shook his head and just like that it was not brought up. 

“the boy’s gonna die and there’s nothing i can do about it”    
  


the funeral was the following day, luckily the family allowed it to be a public funeral so that the agents can observe and see if there was anyone suspicious at the funeral, hotch believes that the unsub would come to feel remorse. so far no one striked out as a possible unsub, lucas decided to glance over at reid hoping he was okay after last night. when lucas focuses back, he notices prentiss and rossi walking over to a middle-age man who had his camera out filming the casket and funeral. after hearing reid’s reasonings for his nightmares for the past nights, and it wasn’t his first time having a nightmare like this, apparently he had similar versions when he was a kid. 

  
  


they took a suspect in and started questioning him. morgan approached lucas and shared he found a young boy around the age of five or six who died in las vegas, nevada. 

“spencer would’ve been four at least” 

“exactly, furthermore, he was sexuall abused and stabbed to death” 

“does this relate back to spencer’s dreams?” 

morgan explained it could be considering jenkins died when he was six and it was here in las vegas which relates to the case. lucas looked over at reid, asking morgan if it was the right time to share this information with reid. 

“he’s been having all these nightmares for years, i have to give him something,” morgan said, walking over to reid to share what he found. lucas let out a sigh before walking over towards reid and morgan, who was talking to reid about what he found. 

the unsub had called again, and reid had pointed out that the way the unsub described the clothing that they gave to michael. 

“i don’t think it’s a man, did you hear the way she described the clothing? she said the blue shoes. lime green oxford” 

the team realized that the unsub was not in fact a male it was a woman, adding on how men abduct children while women would most likely abduct newborns which mean that whomever the unsub was, believed that the boys she was abducted were newborns. 

morgan called garcia to see if she can find anything on the unsub, but nothing; garcia claimed that she was most likely institutionalized at a mental facility and since it was from a mental facility, she wasn’t able to get the records due to patient privilege however reid thinks he found a way to the get info 

“lucas, come with me” 

“um...sure, okay” lucas said following reid behind to head to wherever they’re going 

they arrived at a place called bennington sanitarium, lucas was unsure about their reason for coming here till a faculty member approached them saying: “dr. reid, your mom didn’t tell me you were in town” 

lucas looked over at spencer, trying not to give him a ‘what?’ face, but spencer didn’t face lucas and focus more on the man in front of them. 

“she doesn’t know i’m here; i’m here on a case, this is agent cortez” 

lucas gave a small smile before shaking hands with the man before reid continued on with what they were looking for. reid shared about what was going on so far with the abductions and the profile they developed on the unsub, stating that it was most likely she was released a few weeks ago before the abduction started. 

the man nodded his head saying, he’ll try to find information on the person who fits the profile. as soon as the man walked away, spencer glanced over at a woman with short hair before approaching her. lucas wasn’t sure whether to stay where he was or follow reid, so lucas stayed. 

spencer started talking to the woman who lucas believed it was his mom; spencer gestured over to lucas, probably explaining to his mom who he was. 

“he’s a new member to the team” spencer explained to his mother, who shared that she didn’t like spencer working on cases that are sad. spencer shared that as soon as the case was over, he was going to come back and see his mom. 

“what else is going on?” 

“nothing” spencer lied, diana shook her head saying that she can feel something is wrong, she was a mother after all. spencer looked over at lucas who didn’t seem to know what to do while waiting for spencer. diana notice this before asking spencer if he would like to introduce lucas to here. 

spencer slowly nodded before heading back to lucas who gave a smile as spencer approached him 

“hey, um...do…” spencer was unsure how to word it, but lucas let out a small laugh before answering yes, spencer nodded slightly before leading lucas back to his mother 

“lucas, my mom, mom, this is lucas, he’s new to the team like i mentioned” 

“hi, it’s good to meet you, spencer talks highly of you,” lucas said, lying slightly knowing that him and spencer didn’t talk as often, especially about his mother. diana looked over at spencer then back at lucas, who was confused on what was going on. 

before diana can say anything, spencer asked about riley jenkins, diana replied that it was a boy from a made up story. spencer rebuttal saying that it was a real boy who was murdered when spencer was only four years old, but diana disagreed, which lead spencer to saying that he’s been seeing things. 

“don’t say that” 

“i’ve been having dreams about him since i was little” spencer replied. 

diana believed it was because of that fact that spencer reads too much and it affected his dreams, adding that she believed that her and spencer were in danger, something that his mom and dad would fight about. 

“why did you think you and spencer were in danger?” lucas asked, trying to help out spencer

“because, a mother knows, a mother  _ always _ knows” 

lucas nodded, before sulking back against his chair, the faculty that spencer was talking to came back sharing he didn’t find anyone that fit the description. adding that if the person has an axis-1 condition the release wouldn’t matter if she stayed on medication or not. 

“i got off my medication when i was pregnant with you” diana said, adding that she felt terror everyday but she made it and it was beautiful because she had spencer. lucas awed at the comment before putting his hand on spencer’s back. but his mind caught on something else, spencer turned back to the doctor and asked if a woman to convince herself that a five-year-old to be a newborn which the doctor replied saying: “if her psychosis was strong enough and if they’d stopped taking their medication” 

spencer thanked him before telling lucas they had to go. 

“what did you figure out, i know damn well that little head of yours is filled with something” lucas commented, as soon as they got out, spencer called hotch saying that the reason the medical examiner was confused was because the unsub was breastfeeding the victims, not starving them. 

reid and lucas pulled up to the home of the unsub, and rushed inside, it was quiet as if there was no one in here. 

“shouldn’t we be outside with the others?” lucas asked, reid shook his head and gestured with his hands for lucas to follow him. the pair walked down the hall till spencer entered a room to find the victim. spencer assured michael that him and lucas are the good guys, michael hugged spencer and lucas let out a small smile. 

  
  


after the case was done and michael was safely return to his parents, the team was going to stay one more night in las vegas, spencer took this opportunity to spend the rest of his time with his mom. 

“so you’re off to see your mom again?” 

spencer nodded happily 

“she seems cool, your mom” lucas commented, spencer looked at lucas for a few moments before asking if he wanted to come with spencer back to see his mom. 

“i’m going to stay the night, not that you have to, but till then do you wanna come with?” 

“sure” 

when lucas and spencer arrived back at bennington sanitarium, when they headed over to diana, she said that she was proud of spencer for saving the little boy; who asked how did she know, which diana replied: “a mother always knows” 

“i’m going to be staying the night, lucas won’t though just to clarify, he just tagged alone” 

diana looked at the doctor and said: “if anyone tries to keep him longer, i’ll scratch your eyes out” 

the doctor told spencer he was only allowed to stay one night, lucas laughed slightly before diana said it helps when you’re crazy. 

  
  


in the evening, lucas headed to his hotel room, and flopped on his bed, tired; he looked over his phone to see if anyone called and by anyone, he meant ben but nothing. it was nice getting to know a little bit about reid. lucas felt tempted to get into a car and drive to his childhood home, hasn’t been in summerlin since his graduated high school which meant it was six years ago. suddenly sleep hit him and that concluded his day 

  
  
  



	11. 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐦

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> reid stays back to finish up some unsolve business and lucas stays back to support him

the following morning, everyone was ready to head out, just as they were, reid came running in sharing that he was going to stay a couple of days, lucas glanced over at reid before asking why he was going to be staying a few days.

“i want to spend some time with my mom, i haven’t seen her in a really long time” 

“okay, then i’ll stay with you” lucas said. reid shook his head saying that lucas should go back with the others. lucas shook his head, saying he was staying with reid and that was that. the rest watched them discuss this and waited for reid to respond which he finally did saying: “fine, you can stay” 

everyone started heading out, jj stopped in front of spencer and told him to take care of himself, reid responded with the same before saying he was referring to both of them (both being jj and her baby) 

“jj, if you give birth before i come back, i’ll never forgive you” lucas said

“i will try,” jj responded laughing. 

as soon everyone left, lucas asked spencer what was the reason he was staying. spencer asked what did lucas mean, the agent looked at spencer with a ‘i know you’re not just here to visit your mom’ look; spencer let out a sigh saying that he was going to look into the case of riley jenkins because in his last dream about his dad was the person putting riley’s body behind the washer. 

“so do you think your dad’s the killer? because of a dream?” 

“i mean it has to be” 

“but you said so yourself, that you don’t believe in dream analysis” 

spencer nodded his head but he needed to figure out the case, why was his dad in his recent dream about riley jenkins. lucas nodded before saying: “let’s get this show on the road” 

spencer went to look over the case of riley jenkins, the person who handed over the file asked why the bureau would be interested in the riley jenkins case that happened years ago; lucas cut in saying it was for research. they shared that there were some boxes that related to the case, spencer thanked them for their help. 

when heading back to spencer’s room, it was propped open, spencer entered first with lucas following closely behind when they both entered to find rossi and morgan watching some tv 

“what are you guys doing here shouldn’t you be on a flight home” 

“you should be with your mom, but you’re not” 

lucas looked over at spencer whispering that he should let them help with what’s going on. morgan shared that he knew that it was about riley jenkins which rossi added, that if they help spencer they can figure out fast who the suspect is. 

“who do you think the suspect is anyways?” rossi asked 

“my dad” 

the three stayed silent before rossi asked that before they started looking into the case if spencer was sure about this because it could lead to something that spencer does not want to find out about his dad. 

“reid, your dad left you,” morgan commented, which indicates that spencer is probably putting his personal feelings into the case. lucas looked over at spencer from the bed, the more about this case caused lucas to learn more about spencer. 

so the group decided to go ahead and profile a possible unsub, when they mentioned that the unsub could most likely have lived close by riley, spencer shared that he remembered his family lived less than half a mile from the jenkins. 

spencer suggested that they go to the neighborhood to talk to families near the jenkins’ household, to see any impressions of those who remembered what happened with riley jenkins. morgan asked if spencer was sure about going down this road, which spencer nodded his head to as a response. 

before going to the neighborhood, spencer stopped by once more to see his mom, lucas occupied him. 

“mom, can i ask you some questions about dad?” 

“i’m having a hard time remembering, but what do you wanna know?” 

spencer asked if his dad liked being around children, diana replied that he did, if it was up to him spencer’s dad would want a house full of kids, which spencer asked if his mom wanted more kids hearself.

“why mess with perfection?” diana replied

“she’s right” lucas joked, smiling proudly at spencer who bowed his head bashfully, before continuing on asking how his dad was around other kids; diana shared that he was good, considering he coached spencer’s little league baseball team. 

“you played baseball? you?” 

“spencer’s father always wanted spencer to play normal activities, well normal according to him, i try to tell him that spencer was exceptional” diana explained. spencer continued asking questions, and diana responded that the question that he was asking seemed a bit too strange. spencer bowed his head once more before sharing that it was about riley jenkins. 

diana shook her head sharing that she already told spencer that he wasn’t real but spencer rebuttal saying that he was real, lived in their neighborhood and that he believed his dad was part of it. 

after spencer talked a bit with his mom, the group headed to riley jenkin’s father, who wasn’t too keen to see them, believing that they were out there mind for coming to him and talking about the case about his son that happened years ago. 

“we’re just trying to get some new facts” lucas said to mr. jenkins 

“well you’re crazy if you think that will reid killed my son” 

spencer stepped in asking if they were friends, which mr. jenkins asked why he was asking that, leading spencer to reply that he was will’s son. left, mr. jenkins stunned before spencer continued asking questions, which mr. jenkins answered once done spencer asked where his dad was most days. 

“most likely at the same firm in summerlin” 

lucas’ heart dropped at the name of the town, he bit the inside of his cheek and snapped out of it when he heard spencer say: “he’s been in town this whole time?” 

“you know summerlin?” rossi asked as they started to leave 

“yeah, i mean it’s not too far from here about 9 miles away, he was ten minutes away and never let me know” 

“i guess that means you and i, our whole live were ten minutes away” lucas joked trying to lighten the mood, morgan asked if lucas was from summerlin which he replied that he was from nevada. 

“huh, who knew the youngest of the team both from nevada” morgan replied. 

  
  


as they made their way to the car, spencer pulled lucas aside, which surprised him and asked what was up with spencer. 

“are you okay? going to summerlin? you can stay back at the hotel an-” 

“spence, i appreciate the kindness but don’t worry, it’s gonna be hard considering i haven’t been in summerlin in almost six years but i promise i’ll be fine” 

  
  


arriving at will’s firm, spencer headed off to the bathroom out of worry, seeing his father again after all these years. after asking the receptionist of william, and spencer leaving to the bathroom, will finally showed up. 

lucas felt anger hit him, but he wasn’t sure why, he didn’t personally know spencer well, he definitely didn’t know his dad. the young agent wanted to snap at will and ask why he left spencer but kept his mouth shut. as will made a joke about something with city council 

“no, this is about your son” lucas snapped, which caught will’s attention (probably the son part not lucas’ tone of voice)

“my son? did something happen?” he asked. the three shook their heads sharing that there was nothing that they didn’t know yet, that’s when spencer came back and greeted his dad. 

the group took will to a more secluded room, where will commented that people used to say that him and spencer looked alike but he doesn’t as much anymore. 

“they say some people look like their dogs, too...it's attributed to prolonged mutual exposure. elderly couples, also. they unconsciously mimic the expressions of people they've been around their whole life, so, it kind of, kind of makes sense that i wouldn't really look like you” reid said. 

the other three men stayed quiet before will asked why spencer was here, which he explained it was because they were finishing up a case about a five year old boy. 

“ethan hayes right? that’s terrible” 

“it kind of got me thinking of riley jenkins” 

spencer explained what has been going on, along with the dreams including the recent dream he had that showed will as the killer of riley jenkins. there was no reaction from will except a comment about spencer’s dream being interesting.

“aren’t you a bit concern or surprised?” 

“i stopped being surprised by spencer’s mind a long time ago” 

spencer continued on saying that his dad fits all profile of the unsub and that he wasn’t accusing his dad as the killer but they wanted will to cooperation with the case, access to his items. will got up and said: “get a warrant” 

“okay, we can’t get a warrant, what now?” lucas asked as soon as they stepped out of the building, spencer was on the phone with garcia saying that they had to go under the radar about this and wanted garcia to find information on his dad. 

“you want me to hack your father’s network? are you sure about this?” garcia asked. spencer grumbled something about tired of people asking him that question. 

spencer headed up to his hotel room alone leaving rossi, morgan and lucas downstairs on the main floor. lucas slouched against the chair he was sitting in, taking in a deep breath, he felt terrible because he wanted to help spencer but realized that it was harder than it seemed. 

“you good there, kid?” 

“i’m tired” lucas mumbled 

spencer came back downstairs and showed a file that appeared on his doorsteps, saying that spencer was looking for the wrong guy and that it was weird that it suddenly appeared after they just talked with his dad. 

“well who is he? is he a possible unsub?” lucas asked, morgan had grabbed the file from spencer and looked over it himself. it read the file and it was a possibility he could be the unsub; morgan called garcia, to see what she got so far. 

“reid, we’ve been all up on your dad’s business” 

spencer asked what did they find so far, nothing that would cause him to look bad, no dirt, no nothing, just the fact he bought a celine dione ticket six months ago. 

“she still does shows?” asked lucas, spencer gave him a look which caused lucas to stay shut, before reid asked if it was possible for his dad to keep under the table. 

“there’s a possibility but however, he does not seem to fit the profile” jj said, garcia butted in saying she found other things about spencer’s dad, such as he was a workaholic, worked more than any of them at the BAU, doesn't spend his money, nice house, favorite author bein isaac asimov (which of course spencer knew). 

“on his home computer he’s archived one common subject” 

“what?” spencer asked 

“you, every article you’ve been mentioned in, things that have been published online, pieces you’ve written for behavioral science journal, he keeps tabs on you” 

“oh yeah, he googled me, that makes up for everything, excuse me, i need some air” spencer said, leaving them. once he left, garcia felt bad thinking she was helping spencer, morgan assured her that it was okay and added on that he needed for her to look a gary brendan micahels, as morgan and rossi talked with garcia, lucas headed to find spencer. 

lucas saw spencer speaking to a hooker, most likely he didn’t know that, so he headed over and asked how they were doing. morgan and rossi appeared by soon saying that they were looking for spencer. as they started to leave the woman shouted that spencer won $2,000 

“geez, spence next time i go to the casino, i’ll bring you along” 

“keep it” spencer shouted back to the woman 

“you know that you just gave two grand to a hooker” 

spencer didn’t care too much knowing that he was more occupied with the case. 

  
  


it was lucas and spencer back at visiting his mom, as they entered, lucas pulled spencer aside 

“okay, listen to me, i’m all for finishing this case and having you sleep easy but-” 

“don’t ask me if i’m okay with this” 

“spence, listen, it’s just you’re going too deep into this and i don’t mean finding out that your dad is a possible unsub but i just think-” 

“you don’t know me that well, lucas, you just got out of a six year relationship, and i’ve said this before, i'm fine with this case” spencer walked into the building leaving lucas stunned and hurt before quickly following in. 

spencer asked his mom about what he saw, she claimed it was a dream but spencer responded that it was a memory he had; spencer tried to convince her to remember what happened, that it wasn’t about him right now, it was about riley jenkins. 

however, trying to help diana remember caused an outbreak from her, lucas stood by the door unsure what to do, nurses and doctors came in to help her to ease, spencer was about to leave and as he did, diana said: “it could have been you” 

spencer returned back to the police station wanted to talk to the captain of the station, but the detective wasn’t having it saying that it was a local murder, that the fbi had no place into the case. 

morgan asked lucas how was reid doing, the young agent shrugged his shoulder sharing that he wished he didn’t stay with reid. 

“what happened?” 

“nothing, i just think, i feel like i’m pressuring spence into being friend with one another, i don’t know, i tried talking to him before we talked to his mom again and he just said i didn’t know him well, and i just got out of a six year relationship, i don’t know that kind of hurt” lucas said crossing his arms and leaning against the wall. 

morgan shared that spencer was just being affected by the case, and for lucas not to take it to personally, adding on that everyone who has asked spencer if he’s okay with the case, he just angrily responds knowing that they mean well but he’s just frustrated

“plus he likes you, if anything he’ll apologize” morgan said

lucas nodded before glancing at morgan when he heard that spencer likes him but what did he meant by that honestly it wasn’t the time for lucas to overthink. 

spencer got approval from the detective that he had 24 hours to figure out the case, just and he shared the news, garcia called sharing that she didn’t find anything about gary michaels, sharing that it was possible he was under a new name, and promised if anything, she would call back. after the talk about it, spencer came up saying that the detective is possibly covering for his dad. 

  
  


rossi, morgan and lucas watched from behind the glass, where spencer was interrogating his dad about jenkins; lucas wondered if this was a personally vendetta against his dad, but there has to be for some reason spencer kept having the same dream and one time he has the recurring dream but with his dad. 

officer approached the three sharing that gary michaels is dead and has been for over twenty years, which crossed him off as a unsub to look into, when they informed the news to spencer, he went back into the room and talked with his dad, knowing that there was something he was hiding. lucas wanted to go in there and talk to him but he stayed put.

diana came in with the detective, lucas watched as she approached the room, soon she had said something to spencer and which caused all three members of the reid family to step into a more private room. 

once everything was discussed about the case between spencer and his parents, he dropped the case and told lucas, rossi and morgan about it not entirely but in small details. as they headed to the airport, spencer pulled lucas aside. 

“i’m sorry, for what i said, you were just being nice and i had my head wrapped around the case and-” 

“hey, it’s okay i promise” 

spencer wanted to say something else but morgan interrupted them instead saying that jj had given birth, lucas’ eyes light up and told spencer to hurry up that he wanted to see the baby. 

arriving in virginia, lucas and spencer made their way to the hospital where everyone was. lucas told spencer to go ahead, that he needed to use the bathroom after a long trip. 

when lucas arrived at the hospital, he saw ii and spencer who was holding jj’s baby in his arms. 

“lucas, hi!” jj said, lucas made a comment saying jj promised she wasn’t gonna give birth till he came back

“yeah well, _henry_ here decided to pop out three weeks earlier” jj commented. 

lucas walked over to spencer’s side and smiled at the small baby, jj shared that spencer and garcia were henry’s godparents, lucas congratulated spencer who just gave a smile. 

“he’s so tiny, congrats, jj” lucas said.

thus end another case.


	12. 𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> lucas goes out to search for a new possible apartment when emily cannot suddenly go, she suggests spencer to accompany lucas. the pair head off to look at apartments but it also leads to talks that lucas wished they never did talk about

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just a small cute filler chapter that also involves around the story :)

it was saturday morning, lucas was up early, he had made himself breakfast before emily woke up around eight and was surprised to see lucas awake. 

“um, is today my birthday or something?” emily asked 

“no, today i finally go apartment hunting!” 

emily cheered before lucas asked if she was ready to go with him, but emily gave him a confused look shaking her head no, lucas asked why not and that he asked a few days ago that they would go apartment hunting this weekend. 

“oh my god, i completely forgot, i promise penelope with her apartment today, she’s doing a mass clean up and needs help, since jj is busy with henry” 

lucas let out a sigh before explaining that he didn't want to go alone because he needed a second eye helping him with the pros and cons. emily apologized before snapping her fingered thinking of an idea, lucas gave her a confused look before she said: “why not reid?” 

lucas face turn red, before turning to emily and saying that going with spencer was not an opinion at all, it wasn’t even on the table. 

“okay, so who were you gonna ask?” 

“i don’t know!” 

“just go with reid, what’s the worst that can happen?” 

lucas called spencer to ask if he had any plans today, after getting a no; lucas then proceeded to ask if spencer would like to accompany him to look at some potential apartments. spencer said he would love to and would meet with lucas outside of emily’s apartment building soon. 

“cool, see you then,” lucas said, hanging up before turning to emily who was about ready to go. lucas glared at her saying it was her fault that he had to go with reid, emily said that she’ll make it up to him when they both come back tonight and just like that she left. 

spencer called lucas as soon as he arrived, once lucas came out of the apartment building, he greeted spencer and asked if he brought his walking shoes. spencer gave lucas a confusing look saying that he wasn’t given any instruction about wearing walking shoes 

“i’m joking, well not really, most of these apartments we’re going, we’ll be walking to” lucas shared as he started to walk, spencer jogged a bit to catch up to him. 

“so how many apartments are you gonna check out?” 

“about six, the last one is a open house, so we’ll go see three take a small break and see the rest” 

“you really check everything out huh?” 

lucas nodded his head before continuing on the walk. 

  
  


the pair arrived at the first apartment, it was a room on the third floor in a nice apartment building, when the pair entered the apartment room, the realtor introduced herself, to spencer and lucas. 

“are you lucas cortez?” 

“yes, i am” 

“aw and you must be his boyfriend” 

lucas made a mental note to fight emily later, as he did spencer shook his head saying that he was just friends with lucas. the realtor nodded and smile as she began to show them around the apartment. lucas was awed, after showing around the apartment, the realtor said she’ll give them a minute. 

“it’s nice” lucas commented, the one time he shopped for an apartment was when he graduated from columbia. spencer shared that it was okay but it seemed a bit snug, if lucas wanted a lot more space, he would have to look elsewhere

“so no?” 

“well if you’re looking at a pros and con perspective, pro is that it looks nice, con is that it’s small, if you had a guest, who would sleep over they would sleep on the couch, i don’t know how you feel about that, and if you ever plan on getting a pet they’re not gonna like it” 

“okay, so major no, let’s go dr. reid” lucas said before thanking the realtor and he’ll contact him if anything, she handed lucas her business card. 

the pair headed off to another apartment, lucas read info on it before they went in that it had a main bedroom and a guest bedroom, kitchen and living room. 

“so if i ever get a cat, it’ll have it’s own room” 

spencer gave lucas a confused look before they went into the apartment, once again they were shown around. lucas didn’t like it as much, it didn’t sit right with him, something about it but he wasn’t entirely sure.

lucas told spencer he didn’t get a good vibe from it, something about the apartment didn’t fit well. spencer shared that he thought it was a good fit, and jokingly said that lucas could probably even make the spare room for his cat like he said before.

“she didn’t show us the guest room” lucas whispered between him and spencer, the pair looked over at the realtor before lucas approached her and asked if he can see the guest room, the realtor seemed hesitate but nodded before walking over when she opened the door and revealed a cult like area. 

“this is why the previous owner was forced to leave” 

“ma’am, we’re with the fbi” lucas said, slowly pulling his badge out, still focusing on the room. the realtor quickly said that the owner never did anything illegal, all the ‘blood’ was corn syrup like in  _ carrie.  _ spencer said they’ll be going, and will call if anything, before rushing them out of there. 

“do you think a cult was living there?” 

“no, more like someone who’s into witches” 

lucas shook his head, feeling the chills go down his back. the young agent crossed out the second apartment and circled a huge NO over it. the duo had one more apartment to visit before a small break, spencer shared he was enjoying his time with lucas. 

the third apartment was perfect, apparently however, it was haunted and lucas was not about to wake up or stay up all night hearing noises so it was another no but a possibility because spencer said ghost aren’t real and he was a genius after all but he loves halloween so he added if anything he can help get rid of the spirits. the thing is, lucas loved the apartment he can picture himself living here when he shared his disappointment with spencer, the genius shared they’ll find a way to make it work. 

they headed to a cafe to eat something before heading to the last three houses, spencer can see that lucas was frustrated on not finding the perfect apartment. 

“you don’t have to find the  _ one  _ today” 

“i know but, spence, i’ve been living with emily for a couple of months now and i feel like i need to find a place of my own, i already have a car, i’ve gotten use to a system here but now i want to get a place of my own, after six years of being with someone since high school, i finally get to be me like on my own and it’s been a weird feeling at first but i’m glad” 

spencer gave lucas a smile before congratulating lucas for his new chapter in life, lucas smiled before focus on their food, just as the waiter left. spencer shared he needed to talk to lucas about something. 

“sure what’s up” 

“about the kiss a couple months back” 

lucas swallowed his food before looking back at spencer, there was a moment of silence between them. the young agents didn’t know what to say, either of them, spencer repeated lucas name before lucas looked up and said he didn’t want to talk about it. 

“but, lucas i-” 

“spencer, i told you well maybe not directly but i said it meant nothing” 

“lucas…” 

“spencer, please i don’t want to talk about it, i thought we had an agreement” 

“we didn’t even talk about it!” 

lucas shared that he believed since they haven’t talked about it for so long, he believed that it was a mutual agreement that they didn’t verbally talk about. spencer shared he wanted to talk about it, and not to poke fun at lucas he just wanted to know what was up. 

“spencer, i really don’t wanna know, i just, i’ve been with ben for six years, i wasn’t single since i dated him and then i was engaged to him, i’m now on my own, for the first time, and i was confused and you’ve been really nice to me and i guess, it was a long day and like i said that day, ben always made me feel better after a long day so i felt alone and i kissed you” lucas said. 

spencer lowered his head, he felt bad that he had lucas talk, even though he wanted to talk about it. 

“i’m sorry, lucas i didn’t mean to pressure you” 

“it’s fine, i mean i hate spilling my guts out in public, but seriously don’t sweat,” spencer patted lucas’ hand assuring them that they were good, having lucas give a smile back.

  
  


the finished up their food and drinks, before heading off to the next apartment. 

lucas looked around the apartment, it seemed old, like the floor was creaking and the door’s were practically falling, one side of a wall was sticky like super sticky. lucas told the realtor no, that he’ll have to pass. reid agreed that the apartment was not as good for lucas, so they headed off to the next apartment. 

lucas believed that the fifth apartment wasn’t worth seeing because it was apparently already bought today, the realtor had sent lucas a text. 

so it was now time for the open house well open apartment, lucas lead spencer up the stairs, and saw that the apartment seem wonderful, but it seemed that it appealed to couples only which worried lucas thinking what if the realtor was only letting those who were in a relationship have a higher chance.

“hi, lucas cortez” he said introducing himself to the realtor

“hi, i’m isabella, and i’m assuming this is your husband? boyfriend” 

spencer started to correct her but lucas cut him off saying yes, spencer was in fact his ‘boyfriend’ 

lucas smiled once more at the realtor before tugging spencer away to examine the apartment, it seemed extremely nice, but lucas thought it was too spacious, he was currently standing in the bathroom of the apartment, it was big, the one in the third apartment wasn’t big but wasn’t small it was just right the others had plumbing issues or were just dirty. 

“this seems like a good place, could use a few fixtures but if you like it, it’s good” 

“i don’t like it, it doesn’t seem like the one, i don’t feel snug and warm, like i did with haunted apartment” 

spencer walked over and tapped lucas on the shoulder which caught his attention, the pair smiled at each other for a moment before spencer said that he believes lucas knew the answer to which apartment was the best. 

“am i interrupting something?” said isabella, lucas shook his head no and that him and spencer were on their way out. 

  
  


the duo stopped by a chinese take out restaurant before going back to emily’s apartment, and ate the food. spencer and lucas looked over the pros and cons list and realized all pointed to the haunted apartment. lucas looked at spencer who gave him an ‘obvious’ smile which caused lucas to groan because spencer was correct, the haunted apartment was the one. 

“i don’t want the apartment to be the one!” 

“lucas, you obviously love the apartment more than the others” 

lucas nodded, he grabbed his phone and called the realtor of the apartment to let her know that he was going to buy it. as he left the room, spencer continued eating the food, the door opened to the apartment and saw emily coming in 

“reid, hi” 

“lucas let me in” reid muffled out, before emily can ask about their day, lucas returned sharing with spencer that the realtor didn’t answer, so he left a voicemail hopefully getting a call back no later than tomorrow and then noticing emily. 

emily congratulated lucas on his find of the new apartment; lucas before sharing that it was all spencer’s help that caused him to realize which apartment was the one. 

“now, all i have to do is get a cat” 

“aw i love cats” emily responded. spencer cleaned up his mess before sharing with both emily and lucas that he was going to head out because it was getting late, lucas nodded before asking he hoped that spencer had a great day. 

“of course, i’m glad to help” spencer said before leaving the apartment. 

emily asked lucas if he had fun with spencer today, the young man nodded his head that he had enjoyed spencer’s company today, it did in fact help him choose an apartment. emily nodded before asking how spencer was. 

“if you're asking me if anything happened between us, no, now if you excuse me i’m going to search for cats, and there is food for you in the fridge,” lucas answered. 

  
  


the following day, lucas got a call from the realtor of the haunted apartment, saying that if he was serious about buying the place, they can meet to sign a few things. lucas responded that he was serious and would love to meet with the realtor as soon as possible. 

as soon as he hung up, lucas called reid and shared that he got the apartment and that he would be able to move in by the end of the week. spencer congratulated him on the good news, before adding that lucas can now focus on packing up his stuff and finding a cat

“probably step by step, but thank you! i’m pretty happy about this, thank you again” lucas said 

“you’re welcome” 

lucas told spencer he’ll see him at work soon and hug up. 

it felt nice for once that lucas was doing something on his own, it felt liberating and free, he let out a sigh before flopping back on his bed and felt the weight of the world leave his body. 


	13. 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐩 𝐭𝐨 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐫𝐤

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the team was on vacation, lucas decided to take this time to go back to new york which had been a while since his break up with ben; while there, some mystery gift show up leading up to something more. 
> 
> reid returns to nevada to visit his mom but does something else

lucas moved into his new apartment a couple of weeks ago, the first few nights it was hard for him to sleep because of the idea that it was a haunted apartment, he was convinced that he should get an ouija board to communicate with the ghost. 

it was his only chance to ease his calmness. 

since his move in, almost everyone came by to check it out, some more than others and although it gets lonely at night (beside the ghost), it was not the best but it was his first apartment on his own, without a roommate. however, since then, lucas has adopted a cat named robin, it has been nice. 

suddenly it was vacation time for the team at the BAU, lucas believed it was much needed rest, after so much, especially their case that involved a man crashing into canada’s border. lucas was packing up his items for his trip. the buzzer of the apartment, well buzzed, which caused lucas to walk over and press the button to let the person in, knowing it was spencer taking him to the train station. 

a few moments later, a knock came on the door having lucas answer it to reveal spencer. 

“thank you so much for taking me to the station, to be honest, i’m kind of anxious going back consider that’s the same train i arrived when well you know” lucas said grabbing his bags 

“yeah, of course, my plane doesn’t leave till later tonight, so i’m glad to help” 

as soon as everything was settled, lucas grabbed his bags and spencer carried the cat bag because he was going to bring robin to penelope while lucas was away for vacation. the pair got into spencer’s car and headed to the train station. 

as they drew closer, lucas felt his stomach turn, his hands getting sweaty and the feeling of throwing up. 

“you okay?” spencer ask 

“i’m good, i’m just feel anxious, but i’ll be fine” 

spencer nodded as he promised that he’ll get robin to penelope as soon as possible. lucas thanked spencer as he got down before heading to the train. it was all coming back to him now, the memory of arriving here to virginia and seeing emily wait for him and since then, it was as if lucas changed for the better. 

  
  
  


arriving in new york, lucas got off the train and saw his friends from college, garrett, gia and ashlee. seeing his friends standing on the platform brought serotonin into lucas’ body, especially since this was the same place lucas was dumped. 

“oh my god, you’re here! how’s virginia treating you?” asked ashlee

“good, i’m good, everything is good, i’m hungry though. can we rush this along” lucas said smiling. 

  
  


the four ended up at a diner, to eat some burger and fries, lucas’ friends asked about  _ everything  _ from ben dumping lucas to what he was doing now. of course, lucas gave every detail he can, then gia asked about the spencer guy he keeps talking about.

“i don’t talk about spencer that much, do you?” 

“i mean i rather have you ramble about this spencer guy then see you heartbroke over ben” ashlee said, taking another bite of her food. lucas groaned feeling the embarrassment rush over him, garrett reminded lucas that they were swinging by columbia to recapture memories of their time at the school.

lucas nodded his head hoping it would be night soon, so he can get back to garrett’s apartment to sleep for the night because he knows the following night, most likely they were going to go out clubbing. 

  
  


the four arrived at columbia campus, it was nice to bring back college memories, lucas can remember getting the feeling excitement when he first got to columbia the fall of ‘01, the sun hit alright, it wasn’t too bright or no bright at all, they sat out on the quad reminiscing the good times of college.

  
  
  


in nevada, reid had arrived to visit his mom, but not just his mom, after the case that happened a couple of months back in nevada, reid wanted to check out lucas’ old home; it wasn’t fair but he had penelope look up lucas’ address when he was younger. since las vegas and summerlin weren’t too far apart, reid headed over to lucas’ childhood home. 

  
  


when he arrived, it seemed like no one was home, reid stood outside the home, he wanted to visit it with lucas when they were here but most likely lucas would not want to come especially after so long. the house didn’t look too shabby, it was a nice quaint house in a nice neighborhood, no noises or anything. 

“excuse me, who are you? do you need anything?” 

reid turned around to see a woman with dark shiny hair, she looked a bit like lucas but more feminie; the doctor hesitated at first not sure what to answer, as the woman approached closer to reid 

“i asked you a question, or i will call the police” 

“ma’am no need to call the police” reid said, quickly pulling out his FBI badge. 

the woman’s face dropped when she saw the FBI badge, reid wasn’t sure if it was out of fear or if she knew that lucas was an FBI agent. there was a pause before the woman asked: “do you know lucas cortez?” 

“yeah, he’s my co-worker, we work together” 

“when was the last time you saw him?” 

“earlier today, i dropped him off at the train station” reid said. 

once again silent, before the woman introduced herself as pilar, lucas’ younger sister, reid nodded before sharing he didn’t shake hands but he was glad to meet her. 

“have you heard anything about lucas? did he married that ben kid? everyone said they were going to get married and-” 

reid cut off pilar before saying why doesn’t pilar call lucas and ask him, herself; pilar bowed her head in disappointment before responding: “i’m sure lucas has told you about his home life as kid, we were such a terrible family to him, my parents hated him the most for being more open minded and different, but in a good way, my older sister and i didn’t defend him just so we didn’t get any ass whooping but looking back, i should’ve done something so he didn’t have to feel like he had no one, ever since he left for new york, we never heard from him again, mama and papa thinks it’s best, but i miss him everyday and wish i can tell him i’m sorry” 

reid nodded his head, he shared that if pilar wanted, that he can pass along her number to lucas when he sees him next time. pilar’s eyes widen before nodding her head rapidly and asking if reid had a pen and paper. 

  
  
  


finally when lucas and garrett arrived at garrett’s apartment, the agent took a shower before resting in the living room. 

“sorry for dragging you around all day, we just missed you” 

“do not apologize, i miss new york, so i don’t mind the dragging around” 

“have you heard from ben since?” 

“no, and i plan on keeping it that way” 

garrett nodded before asking if there was anything else bothering lucas, who answered no, he was just tired and this trip is what he needed the most, garrett nodded before sharing that they were going out tomorrow night. 

“i’m not surprised, on that note, i should sleep” lucas said before telling garrett good bye. 

the following morning, lucas woke up to bagels, which he isn’t surprised because on saturdays, lucas would eat bagels for breakfast; lucas thanked garrett for the bagels

“oh i didn’t buy them, i saw them out on my front door, and brought them in” 

“garrett….” 

“i swear they’re not poison or else you wouldn’t be breathing” 

lucas glared at garrett as he strolled over to the shower, leaving lucas to examine the bagels before seeing a sticky note on the box saying ‘ _ big fan ! _ ’ lucas assumed it was someone who like garrett’s books so didn’t think much of it. 

  
  


as the day went on, lucas felt weird, like someone was watching him, but it was new york, it was huge and there were so many people, but he stayed on edge just in case. garrett, took lucas, gia and ashlee to a trendy dessert place. 

“what is this place?” 

“so it’s a milkshake place, and they put donuts through the straw” 

“isn’t that a lot?” asked gia 

garrett shook his head, as ashlee told gia it was saturday, and that she can work out monday when the week starts up again, gia let out a sigh before going in with lucas following close behind. 

as four arrived at the cash register, but the employer said that their milkshakes were paid for by an anonymous, ashlee made a joke saying it’s probably someone who was a fan of garrett’s books. 

“look at that, i'm loved” garrett said smiling, lucas rolled his eyes as he gently pushed garrett out and asked him to take them to the park close by. the group sat at a bench and just took in the scenery, that’s when lucas’ phone ringed, causing him to step aside from the bench before answering 

**_“hey spence, how are you doing in nevada? how’s your mom?”_ **

**_“i’m well, i just wanted to make sure you’re well, oh! also penelope has robin i don’t think i ever called and told you”_ **

after a few moments of talking, lucas hung up on reid before approaching his friends. gia asked who it was, which lucas replied it was spencer. all three of his friends shared a look before looking back at lucas who gave them a confusing look. 

“so have you slept with this spencer guy” 

“i’ll say it again, we’re just friends” lucas said. 

around five, gia and ashlee headed to their apartment and lucas headed with garrett to his apartment because they were going to get change for tonight, it was a cafe where everyone just sung show tunes. so it was the perfect night for them, when they arrived there was a bouquet sitting outside of garrett’s door. 

“oh my god, i can’t get enough-oh, it’s not for me it’s for you?” 

“huh?” lucas asked taking the flowers into his hands, after examining them, lucas believed they were from ben, but the flowers were sunflowers, and ben knew that lucas  _ loved  _ lavender not sunflowers for any occasion. lucas furrowed his eyebrows, and didn’t think it was too much but hoped it was anything, garrett got his attention back by saying if lucas was going to shower, which he answered no and went upstairs to change into his clothes for tonight. 

  
  
  


around 8:30, lucas and garrett met up with gia and ashlee at the cafe/club; lucas didn’t know which was which but it didn’t matter because he loved going out with his friends and having fun, not worrying about cases or anything. 

lucas and garrett went up and sung a few songs before resting for the remainder of the night, drinking and singing along to others, at some point lucas needed to go to the bathroom and told garrett he’ll be back, they were both a bit drunk. 

the young agent hobbled his way over to the bathroom, as he left, the place gotten so packed, he didn’t know who he was bumping into or anything, suddenly he felt a hand grab him by the shoulder, lucas was too drunk to have his brain comprehend anything or even his flight or fight response didn’t kick in right away, instead he just let the person continue carrying him to the car or some sort of transportation. 

  
  


when lucas came to, he looked around the room, he was nowhere that seemed familiar, it looked like an apartment, but much smaller, tidy but not too tidy; lucas was unsure where he was and realized he shouldn’t have drank so much. 

lucas tried to move, tried to move but realized he was tied to a chair, and realized he didn’t have his phone or wallet on him because he left them in gia’s purse, and that’s when lucas realized he fucked up. 

“you’re awake” a voice came from the shadows, lucas was not sure who the person was, so he asked who was that in the shadow, the figure came out to appear a white male around lucas’ age and had dark brown hair. 

“you don’t remember me?” 

“i’m asking for a reason, aren’t i?” 

“it’s me, fred jensen? we were in drama together at columbia” 

lucas furrowed his eyebrow before asking if he can give him more detail about their time at columbia. 

“i asked you on a coffee date, and you say you love to go but you’re engaged so it wouldn’t be consider a date” 

that’s when some memories clicked with lucas, he shared with fred that he did in fact remember who fred was which caused him to be over the moon about it, and fred shared that he heard that lucas was no longer with ben and that he was currently in new york. 

lucas felt a chill down his spine, how did he know such information about lucas. 

  
  
  
  


spencer was back at his hotel when he received a call from his phone, he notice it was lucas and wondered why he was calling considering that lucas texted him that he wasn’t going to call spencer tonight because he was out. 

  
  


**_“hello?”_ **

**_“is this spencer reid? this is garrett, lucas’ friend um, i don’t know how to explain this”_ **

**_“explain what?”_ **

  
  


after a few moments of garrett explaining what basically happened, spencer told garrett to stay put before calling the others and packing his stuff to get on a plane back to virginia. 


	14. 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐥𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the BAU returns from their vacation and head to new york to get lucas back from his captor, when trying to find out who it is, they learn some secrets along the way

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING: sexual assault

when everyone was finally back at the BAU, they gathered in the round table room, hotch asked if there was anything updated on lucas’ kidnapping, 

“all his friends said was that he went to the bathroom and never came back when one of his friends went to check what was going on, they realized he wasn’t there and he didn’t have his phone on him at all because he left both his phone and wallet in his friend’s bag, the only thing he has on him is his FBI badge” reid responded what garrett had recollected him. 

jj asked if lucas had any idea of someone following around, more towards asking the question to prentiss who shook her head that there was nothing that was out of the odds. 

“whoever took lucas, probably is someone from new york, tracked his movements or something, and waited for whenever he came back to new york, maybe even kept up with his friends to see what was going on with his life” morgan said. 

“i want wheels up in 20, we’re going to new york” 

  
  
  


“what do you want with me?” lucas asked 

“i heard you’re no longer with ben, that you two broke up” 

“how do you know any of this? how did you know i was back in new york?”

fred stayed quiet, there was no response expect: “i’m going to get us some food” and with that fred left lucas alone, the young agent was tired, his head pounded knowing that it was from the drinking last night; he had no food in his system which was never good if you drank that much last night. 

lucas squeezed his eyes shut then opened them again, thinking if he kept doing it that would get rid of his headaches, all lucas hoped for was that his friends were quick to call someone and by someone he meant the team. 

  
  
  


“so, from what we know so far is that cortez was taken from the bar, but if there was any sign of fighting back wouldn’t people have taken notice?” rossi asked 

“possibly which meant that he either knew the person or he was so drunk, the moment didn’t kick in right away” prentiss responded. 

garcia shared that there was no trace of anything that was out of the odd, not until when he got kidnapped which meant that the unsub possibly was tracing lucas’ friends phone calls and emails, to see what was going on with his life and did not do anything till lucas arrived to new york. 

“alright, i want reid and prentiss to go see cortez’s friend, while the rest of us head to the police station, considering we were not invited for this case, this is one of our agents,” hotch ordered. 

everyone nodded their heads as an agreement in all hope that lucas well and safe once they find him and whoever got him held captive. reid’s head was elsewhere, probably like everyone else, worried about lucas. 

  
  


arriving to new york, prentiss and reid headed to garrett’s apartment who had gathered gia and ashlee as well in case they wanted to question them about lucas’ arrival here; when they arrived, prentiss knocked on the door and it was opened by a boy with light blonde hair, he let them aside knowing that it was prentiss and reid. 

“garrett?” prentiss asked once they were in, garrett nodded before introducing gia and ashlee, who waved their hands sheepishly, as soon as everyone settled, reid asked if they can explain everything from the moment to lucas arrived in new york to when he got taken. 

garrett shared just as they told them, prentiss asked if there was anything unusual that had happened with the days lucas was here, prentiss asked if there was anything unusual that stood out to any of them. gia and ashlee shook their head no, but garrett didn’t react right away; instead he was quiet. 

“is there something you know?” asked prentiss

“the following day after lucas arrived, i woke up earlier than him and found bagels on the front of my doors, i didn’t think much of it, i thought that a fan of my books dropped it off and i brought them in, but it was also very convenient considering lucas eats bagels only on saturday, i think it’s because of the fact he use to eat bagels at school every morning and-”

“garrett, anything else?” 

garrett nodded before adding that throughout the day, gifts were popping up, when they went to a milkshake place where their drinks were paid, the only thing that stood out that said it was for lucas, was a bouquet of sunflowers. 

“lucas, hates sunflowers, he’s more of a lavender kind of guy and if the moment is right, roses” 

“what did lucas say about the flowers?”

“nothing, he found it odd but didn’t act upon it, he left them actually on the dining table, over there” garrett said gesturing towards the table. prentiss walked over to the flowers and asked if ben knew that lucas hated sunflowers which garrett nodded that ben was aware. 

“wait do you think ben did this?” asked ashlee

“we have to look at all the possibilities” prentiss answered

“so you’ll question him?” 

both prentiss and reid nodded their head in response. 

prentiss called hotch sharing what garrett told them about the gifts, and that ben should be question for a possibility, hotch shared he’ll have morgan go over with rossi and for reid and prentiss to come to the station with what they have so far of the gifts (the box the bagels came in, and the flowers with the card), they needed a linguistic analytics if there was anything from the card more than just ‘ _ to lucas _ ’ 

  
  


when fred came back from getting food, lucas asked if he can get some advil or something for his head, fred shared he can get some for lucas as he left, the young agent felt he had to play along to stay alive and not get hurt. 

so when fred came back gave him the advil, lucas asked if fred can untie him

“why? are you gonna leave?” lucas noticed his fist clenched, there was a part of fred that believed that lucas and him were in a relationship that they were meant for one another, a fantasy if you must. lucas shook his head saying that he wasn’t going to leave, that if he trusted lucas to untie him 

“we are lovers right? and lovers don’t tie other lovers up” lucas said in a coaxing voice, and fred bought it so he walked over and untied lucas, of course he couldn’t run and didn’t have a phone to call and so far it didn’t seem that fred had any technology. 

“i’m so happy we’re finally together, lucas” 

“me too…” 

  
  
  
  


emily brought in ben, he was placed in an interrogation room for about twenty minute before heading back to the team to inform them that ben was here. 

“should we be questioning ben? i mean he doesn’t seem like the kind to kidnap lucas” 

“no, but we have to be sure of anything” hotch said responding to jj 

when emily returned back to the room, ben asked what was going on and why he was waiting here for so long. emily smiled kindly assuring ben to have some trust in her, the others were behind the glass, watching as emily talked with ben 

“have you talked with lucas recently?” 

“no” 

“did you know that lucas was back in the city?” 

“i just i haven’t been in contact recently, so what do you think? what is going on?” 

emily let out a small sigh before letting ben know that lucas was kidnapped, ben dropped his mouth open at the sudden announcement. 

“w-what happened?” 

“we think that someone has been tracking lucas’ friends from college, waiting for lucas to come to new york and make his move. do you know anyone that has an admiration or fixation on lucas?” 

ben scoffed, having emily asked what was the sudden scoff, before ben said that if anyone would take lucas it was possible clemson; emily furrowed his eyebrows asking why would clemson want to take lucas, why would he track lucas’ friends. 

“to keep him hush” 

  
  


behind the glass, morgan asked who was clemson again, reid quickly answered it was the officer from the police station, where they first worked a cause with lucas a few months ago. the team nodded before focusing back on emily. 

  
  


“okay, beside the obvious do you think anyone else would be interested in lucas?” 

“no, i really don’t” 

“ben, i’m going to ask you something, what do you mean by clemson keeping lucas hush?” 

ben furrowed his eyebrows, asking emily if lucas told her anything about clemson; which emily shook her head, and ben responded that it wasn’t his place to share the story. but emily shared that ben needed to help them. 

  
  


ben asked if the others can leave the room, and that emily can share with them afterwards; the team did as ben said. 

when emily returned to the room, she shared the horrifying news about clemson and what he could keep lucas hush hush about. it was hard for emily to let out what happened between clemson and lucas. 

“apparently, lucas’ first year with the FBI, they were working a case in new york, the police station that was helping him was the one clemson works at; after the case ended and wrapped up, clemson wanted to talk to lucas and he was waiting for ben to pick him up. so lucas seeing the good in people, because that’s our lucas, follows clemson, they’re in a isolated area and lucas has his back turn suddenly he feels a hand on his shoulder throwing him to the ground” emily took in a deep breath before continuing, adding on how lucas being smaller had a harder time fight back clemson who was much bigger than him. 

“and then um, he um...clemson took advantage of lucas and the only person he told was ben after a couple of weeks, who suggested for lucas to call the cops but lucas thought that was ironic to report a police to the police” 

“it could be a possibility that clemson would take lucas and threaten his life thinking that once he left the NY branch, he would tell others about what happened that night” rossi shared. 

hotch wanted morgan and prentiss to head over and bring clemson in; morgan asked how they were going to do that without sparking up anything. reid shared that clemson seems narcissistic, try to make him seem like he’s helping something and that he's the best of the best of them to help the FBI. 

hotch got on the phone with garcia and asked her to find anything on clemson and to get back to them as soon as possible. 

  
  
  


“so, fred, how did you know that i was back in new york?” 

“well, i traced your friends’ phones, emails and such, it was the only way to stay connected with you” 

“why didn’t you ask me for my number at all in college? i would’ve love to reach out” lucas said. 

fred shook his head saying that he was too shy to actually go ahead and ask lucas for his number, especially because he didn’t want ben to find out. 

“find out what?” 

“that we were in love” 

fred believed that in his fantasy, lucas and him had an affair, or that they expressed romantic feelings towards each other. so lucas nodded his head agreeing with fred, that he wouldn’t want ben to get mad at him or anything. 

“i’m going to make us dinner” fred said leaving lucas alone on the couch, he examined the room there was no sign of a computer or phone, so how did fred trace lucas’ friends, it had to be somewhere in this apartment, but he couldn’t move unless fred took him with him outside of the living room. 

  
  
  


jj informed hotch that morgan and prentiss just arrived with clemson, and were leading him to the interrogation room, just as they were garcia called with some news. 

“alright, so i dug up tons of things on clemson, spoiler not a good guy! he has several sexual assault accusations made towards him by men, but they were either over looked because they were men or the police station kept it on a hush hush because clemson is their gold star, however, beside that there is no record of kidnapping” garcia said, hotch thanked her before adding if she found anything else to let them know. 

“well do, garcia out” 

  
  
  
  


it was morgan’s turn to sit in the interrogation room, across from clemson who was now confused on why he was here. 

“you remember lucas cortez right?” 

“oh yeah, snarky little kid, thinks he the shit since he left with your team” 

morgan nodded his head, informing that lucas was currently missing, someone took him from the club two nights ago. clemson said in a monotone yet taunting voice, saying that it must suck that lucas was missing, the annoyance was rising in morgan. 

“yeah, it does suck, doesn’t it, do you know who would take him? maybe someone who would want him to keep his mouth shut about some dirty secret” 

clemson didn’t catch what morgan was trying to say, which lead him to be more cocky. morgan shared that ben had told them something about lucas and clemson that it seemed scandalous. clemson responded that whatever ben told him was a lie, but said it in a more offensive wording. 

“doesn’t seem to me that it was, apparently ben is the only one who knows,” 

“well i didn’t do shit to that fairy”

“i didn’t say exactly what happened,” morgan said. 

  
  


morgan came back with emily from the interrogation room informing them that clemson didn’t kidnap lucas but he did in fact did what ben shared with emily. reid asked emily if ben was still close by for them to ask him some questions, same went lucas’ college friends. 

  
  


“so, after dinner, what do we do?” 

“watch a movie, we’re going to watch  _ heathers _ ” 

lucas nodded his head, sharing that he loved that movie, it was one of his many favorites. as fred put it in the movie, he put his arm around lucas, who tensed up, trying not to show his worry. 

  
  
  


“do you know anyone in college, or after college that had taken interest in lucas? anyone who was in admiration of lucas, would do anything for him?” jj asked ben, garrett, gia and ashlee.

“lucas was a nice guy, always kind to everyone, especially in our drama club” ashlee pointed out, ben added lucas always saw the best in people, till they reveal to him otherwise. hotch asked if there was anyone stood out to them at all. 

ben snapped his fingers getting the others attention, he shared that there was this one guy who lucas told ben about from time to time. 

“his name was fred, i don’t know his last name, he was a person from his drama club, asked him to coffee once and lucas said he would love to go but it wouldn’t be consider a date because we were engaged” 

“oh! i remembered fred, he was a quiet guy, worked in tech, always complimented lucas, was literally in awe of him, i think he didn't even care that lucas was engaged, like at some point him and lucas would be together” gia added. reid asked if they knew his last name, and gia responded it was fred jensen. 

  
  
  


lucas felt the tear stains on his face, still fresh; he didn’t think he would have to go through that ever again, but it seemed like no to fred was not no at all, just like how lucas being engaged didn’t stop him from being interested in lucas. 

the night back with clemson flashed once more, lucas felt sick, he wanted to throw up but he had put on a good show for fred and for his survival. 

  
  
  


“alright, i got an address,” garcia said, calling and gave them the address of fred jensen before heading their way there. 

  
  


lucas shoved fred off of him, and tried to make an escape, he wouldn’t take it anymore; fred pulled him back punching him multiple times. 

“you’re mine! why are you leaving me!” fred cried. lucas tried so hard not to cry, because him crying and fred crying does not help anymore, all lucas tried to do was try and managed fred to get off of him, but once again the memory of clemson came back. 

lucas felt fred shift his position, and heard the belt unbuckle. 

“let me go!” lucas cried, suddenly the door bust open and the sound of derek morgan entered lucas’ ear

**“FBI! FRED JENSEN GET UP!”**

lucas felt the sigh of relief before blacking out. 

  
  


“let me ride with him please” reid begged, the paramedics nodded as they boarded lucas onto the ambulance. it showed that lucas was rarely feed, had major bruises and blood lost, his clothes seemed they were ripped more than once and changed for another set of clothes. 

“lucas, please stay with me” spencer said, grabbing hold of his hand. 


	15. 𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚 𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐞?

lucas looked around the room, it looked all too familiar but he wasn’t entirely sure why, or why he was currently here. it looked like too much light, as lucas walked to a location, it became more clearer and lucas didn’t have to squint his eyes anymore. 

now being able to see more, it looked like summerlin, nevada but what was he doing in summerlin, nevada? 

  
  


“is he going to be alright?” spencer asked running after the nurses and doctors who told spencer he had to wait with the others in the waiting room. just as they took lucas through the doors, there was nothing spencer could do, not even use his ‘i’m an agent’ trick. he walked towards the waiting room to find the rest of the team there, along with lucas’ friends and of course, ben. 

all they can do was sit and wait for anything, or something. 

  
  
  


“i haven’t been home since that case with reid and...why am i here? wasn’t i in new york?” 

“yes, but you’re in your head right now” 

lucas jumped and turned around to see alicia sliverstone from  _ clueless  _ which now confused lucas even more on what was going on. the young agent asked what was alicia sliverstone doing here, then again lucas wasn’t even sure what he was doing here. 

“well, you’re kind of in the in-between”

“what?” 

“in between life and death, which means you’re thinking whether to stay alive and keep on going or leave love ones behind” 

lucas shook his head before asking what was alicia sliverstone doing here then, and she replied that it didn’t matter, so lucas just nodded his head, but was still confused. the young agent looked around once more before asking why they were in summerlin. 

“you were born here were you not?” 

“i was born in a hospital” 

“okay but in summerlin right?” 

lucas nodded, which had alicia continue on, that this is where it all started, his life at least, here in summerlin, nevada. they began to walk down memory lane, literally. 

  
  


it felt like hours, since they’ve here, finally a doctor came out to share some news on lucas. 

“so far, he’s been coming and going, we have to keep him here overnight to see if we can keep surveillance on him, he has deep bruises a few broken bones, we are not at the time able to see if he was sexual assaulauted till he is conscious” 

“when will you know?” spencer asked, the doctor wasn’t sure, that with the type of injuries and blood lost that lucas has, it was impossible to tell his chances, everyone stayed quiet at the last part. the doctor said that they are free to leave and that’ll call with anything

“are any of you emily prentiss?” 

“that’s me” 

“since you’re under his emergency contact, you’ll be the first we call if anything” 

emily nodded her head before thanking the doctor; everyone started to leave and make calls to hotels to stay the night, jj notice spencer wasn’t leaving, he stayed in his seat, so she decided to approach him. 

“you coming?” 

“no, i think i’ll stay here in case lucas wakes up” 

“the doctor will call emily and she’ll let us know, you deserve some sleep, lucas would want you” 

spencer bowed his head before nodding and following jj out of the hospital. 

  
  
  


“i don’t like coming back here, i haven’t been at home since i was at least 17” lucas snapped, to alicia, who replied that he wasn’t physically at his house, so he still had that streak going. they stood in the middle of the house, which was the living room. 

“do you remember this day?” 

“no, but it looks like a regular old day” 

“well, wait then” 

lucas observed his family, that’s when he notice a younger him, running down the stairs with a book, he couldn’t make it out what it said, till young lucas came close to the living room and it read:  _ babysitters club _

lucas loved those books, he chesired them, when the tv show came out he was at least in middle school or elementary school. the young agent kept watching his younger self demonstrate the book to his father, and then it hit lucas; he remembered this day but blocked it out completely. 

_ “papa, look at this book, it’s so good, can you read it with me”  _

_ “ _ _ sal de aquí estúpido chico y deja de leer esos libros que son para chicas”  _

lucas’ dad shoved his younger self to the ground, and all his sisters did was laugh in his face, and his mother sat there as if nothing happened. the feeling that happened on that day entered lucas again, he told alicia sliverstone that he wanted to move on, she nodded her head as they moved on to another memory. 

  
  
  


ben was the only one who stayed at the hospital with lucas, he was kind of happy that spencer didn’t end up staying, so now it was just him and lucas; ben grabbed hold of lucas’ hand and just hoped he wakes up. 

  
  


“why are we having me live through my traumatic childhood, or just life in general” 

“because life has it’s ups and downs, i mean didn’t you see my movie,  _ clueless  _ when cher felt like she lost everything because ty was getting more popular” 

“don’t think that’s the same thing going on here” 

alicia nodded before they suddenly appeared in lucas’ high school, it looked like it never changed, then again, this was all in his head or in the in-between, something like that. lucas believed that this was the next step in his life, considering that he met ben in high school. 

“do you remember high school?” 

“yes, the only people who were nice to me were the theatre department when everyone found out that i was gay” 

the first memory that was shown was when lucas first met ben, which was at the club fair in school; it was crowded because their school was so huge, lucas saw his teenage self standing with the theatre department, as ben approached the table, he smiled at lucas. 

_ “are you interested in theatre?”  _

_ “um...yeah, you can say that”  _

_ “well, sign up here, we start up after school meetings this friday”  _

alicia noted that lucas had met ben this day, and that since they've been together; lucas nodded his head before responding that he knew that, because he’s the one who lived through it, alicia just wanted to remind lucas. 

  
  


the memories were significant points in lucas’ life which meant transferring to the BAU was one of memories that were part of lucas’ life. 

“he’s cute” alicia sliverstone said pointing out to reid, lucas just bowed his head before looking back up, he remembered meeting reid for the first time, he seemed sweet and caring in his own ways. 

“what are we doing? we’re just walking down memory by memory, what does this have to do with me being alive or not” 

“ah, good question! these walk through memories, allows you to reflect on your life and make you think whether you should continue on living or not, whether you have lived a long fulfilled life or you still have many years to come” 

“what’s your take on this?” 

alicia shared it wasn’t for her to give her an option, but she shared it anyways saying that she believed that lucas had a lot to live for, he was only 25, and that if lucas didn’t come back to his loved ones, he’ll never know. 

lucas looked away for a few minutes before focusing back on the memory to realize that they were in a memory that was recent, one that showed lucas moving into his new apartment for the first time. alicia pointed out spencer was the one helping him out and stayed back to help him unpack. alicia said that it seems that spencer and lucas has some kind of future together; lucas didn’t respond right away, instead he kept quiet and was contemplating his life. 

  
  
  


ben was half asleep when suddenly he felt a squeeze from lucas’ hand and soon as he did, he shouted out for the doctor and nurses to come check on lucas. after that, ben turn back to lucas and asked him to squeeze his hand twice if he can hear him and lucas did just that.

  
  


“looks like you’re ready to go, i think this is your best decision” 

“thanks, alicia sliverstone, it’ll be weird to watch  _ clueless  _ but thanks” 

  
  


spencer was sitting in the hotel lobby when he saw emily rushing out of the elevator with the others, he asked what was happening, emily shared lucas woke up, and soon they all were rushing to the hospital. 

  
  


“hey, you, how are you doing?” 

“i think i’m fine..” lucas focused over to the tv to see a familiar face on the tv, it was clemson it seemed like he was getting arrested which confused lucas, who turned back to ben, who shared everything that happened during trying to find lucas, that after he was found and placed in the hospital, the BAU went ahead and finish up the case on clemson and arrested him, that lucas wasn’t the only one. 

“ben…” 

“it was for the case, i’m sorry but i wanted you safe” lucas nodded his head, understanding were ben was coming from. 

suddenly a shout from the hallway caught lucas’ attention, he looked up to see spencer running to his room, a smile grew on lucas’ face, which caught ben’s attention, he knew that it was time to move on, especially after their last talk in virginia, so he got up and patted lucas on the hand. 

“stay safe” ben said before walking out, lucas wanted to shout out his name but it flew over his head when spencer finally reached his room. 

“hey, look it’s dr. genius” 

“you’re okay” spencer said, he was breath heavy possibly from all the running, lucas nodded his head, assuring spencer that he was fine, before turning to the team and smiling at them, before thanking him for not giving up on him. 

“you’re part of the team, how could we?” morgan shared. 

lucas let out a sigh, sharing he was tired after traveling with alicia sliverstone in summerlin, the group gave each other a confused look which caused lucas to just shake his head. 

the nurse came in and said that they still had some things to do, lucas nodded as the nurse told the team if they could wait outside till then. 

after everything was settled and done, the doctor shared lucas should stay one more night just to be safe, lucas told the team they should head back to virginia, that he'll take a train back home, he still had to get his things from garrett’s apartment. 

“you’ll be okay?” asked jj, lucas nodded before telling to go or else he was going to kick them out, they all bid lucas farewell, hotch approached him before he left sharing that lucas is allowed to have two weeks off at least and if he need more before coming back to work. 

“i’ll see you in two weeks, hotch” lucas said. spencer was the last to leave, he turn to lucas and said that he can stay with lucas if he wanted. lucas shared that it was fine that spencer did not need to stay with him, but spencer wanted to but instead he just nodded and left. 

lucas took a deep breath in before going back to rest. 


	16. 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐫

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> lucas comes back from his two weeks break, but was two weeks enough for lucas to recover?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 𝘁𝘄// 𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗰 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗸𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝗲𝘅𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗮𝘂𝗹𝘁

it was lucas’ first week back at the BAU after everything that happened, everyone was a constant visitor, especially spencer and penelope, but lucas was convinced that penelope mostly came to see his cat, robin. when lucas returned to virginia after staying overnight at the hospital, spencer stayed by his bedside in his apartment for three nights before lucas kicked him out saying the ghost didn’t like spencer staying around. during his absent, apparently foyet had attacked hotchner in his apartment, and was now trying to find hailey and hotch’s son, jack who are now in hiding with another agent till further notice; adding on, morgan is now in the position for hotchner for safety. 

when lucas got off the elevator, and headed to the doors, he was tackled with hug from the side and turn his head to see penelope

“you literally saw me two days ago” lucas joked 

“i know but now you’re back, are you sure you’re good to be back? hotch said-” 

“i know what hotch said, but i promise i’m good, really, i just wanna get back to work” 

penelope nodded as lucas made his way through the doors and went straight to his desk, and dropped his items down on the desk before plopping down on the seat. the first person to approach him was emily who gave him a small smile. 

“it’s so good to see you, how are you? you-” 

“if one more person tells me hotch told me i could have more tie off, i’ll cut their tongue off” 

“ouch, we know you’re well, but lucas-”

“em, i’m seeing a therapist, i mean i was already but still, i’m good” 

emily shared that if he wanted to talk, she was here for him, lucas nodded his head before thanking her. 

“cortez! back in action” morgan said entering with spencer following behind, lucas smiled sharing that he was officially back and before anyone said anything, he knows hotch told him if lucas wanted to ask for more weeks but he was completely fine. 

morgan put his hands up in defense and welcomed lucas back once more, spencer smiled at lucas before heading over to his own desk. 

when it was to deliver the next case, everyone gathered in the round room, hotch welcomed lucas back but also added he didn’t need to go on the case right away, if anything he can stay behind; lucas shook his head saying: “hotch, i’m fine, okay, i’m here and i’m ready to go on this case” 

“okay so our case takes place in sunny los angeles” jj started off 

“yeah i’m definitely all in” 

jj explained that the latest victim was tara farriss, she was about twenty years and she was the third victim in the past two weeks, there’s no sign of sexual assault, she was found near the LA freeway all dressed up. the report shared that tara had less than a pint of blood in her, the last two victims had at least three. 

“the unsub is probably getting impatient or just wants more blood for some unknown reason” lucas pointed out. 

hotch announced wheels up in 20 and they all got up and left to be ready to leave. lucas grabbed hold of his go bag and as he was ready to leave, jj stopped him and asked how he was doing. the young agent let out a laugh and told jj when was everyone gonna stop asking him that. 

“you went through alot, we’re just making sure you’re okay” 

“i already relive the moments with my therapist, i don’t want to relive it at work where it affects the case or the team” lucas confessed, jj nodded and that if he needed anything, she was here. 

on the jet, they continued to go over the case on more details so they were aware of what they were walking into. 

hotch pointed out that the report also shared that all three victims were strangled and bled out through the same way, with fang marks on the throat 

“wait, wait, wait, like a vampire?” 

“yes” 

“so suddenly  _ twilight  _ is real” 

reid as always shared his facts on vampires, jj thanked him for them before adding on that they already have a task force set up in los angeles, sharing it wasn’t their first serial killer case; and added quickly to hotch that detective owen kim from the stalker case was part of it. 

“who?” lucas asked 

“we worked on a stalker case a few years back, and detective kim was part of it, you remember that case right, spence?” 

spencer nodded his head, lucas felt like there was something that both and that lucas didn’t know, he looked back and forth causing jj to share that the case involved tv star lila archer. lucas slowly put two and two together, causing him to let out a small laugh before looking down at the file. 

reid pointed out that the unsub was a vampirist not a vampire, which causes them to be part of the subculture, merely for it’s professed worship of blood. 

“so who ever the unsub is, they’re obsessed with anything of the underworld, mainly vampires, weird” lucas said, 

  
  


when the team landed, they headed to the station where they ran into lieutenant kim, who remembered everyone but prentiss, rossi and lucas which jj introduced them to him of course. lieutenant kim led them to the room, once settled, morgan had told them what to do. 

lucas was appointed to stay with reid too look over the case files; lucas wanted to go out on the field, but it seemed that the two weeks being away was not enough for the team, so he ended up staying with reid. 

“it’s not that i didn’t want to stay with you, it’s just i miss being on the field” reid nodded, saying he understood what lucas was feeling. it was quiet, before asking reid if he really needed lucas help. reid looked up from the files before apologizing to lucas and sharing that he was use to doing these on there own 

“well, how about you talk to me at least” lucas said, jj came back into the room to finish setting up before contacting garcia, as she settled in, she asked lucas if he was doing alright. 

“ugh, why does everyone keep asking me that! i’m not a baby or whatever” 

“well you are the youngest out of everyone, including reid” 

“not my point, i’m fine, jj i told you” 

before jj can say anything, garcia cut in through video sharing that she was in tara’s laptop. 

jj shared that everything was password protected put penelope was already in, sharing the password was ‘cullen’ 

“did she say colon?” 

“no, she said cullen like from the twilight movie” 

“never heard of it” 

“are you serious?” 

reid nodded as lucas and jj shared a look before focusing back on garcia; who shared her best luck to the team, before jj shared that she was going to go talk to tara’s bff, which spencer ask what did bff mean 

“best friend forever” lucas and jj answered at the same time, lucas stayed back once again because he wanted to help spencer. reid asked however if jj wanted him to come along with him, but she responded that reid needed to deliver the profile. 

just as she said that, she grabbed hold of reid’s phone and called derek which reid wasn’t aware of at the time till she said: “hey, derek, spencer is ready for the profile” 

jj started to leave as she hung up after her conversation with morgan, causing reid to shake his head, lucas turn to him and asked: “how are those crutches working for you?” 

“not fun, actually, it’s hard” 

“you can wack an unsub with those if anything,” lucas joked. 

reid nodded and stayed quiet before turning to lucas and opened his mouth and lucas shook his head and said: “spencer, don’t ask me, if i’m okay, i swear i’ll take one of your crutches and swing it over your head and knock you unconscious, do you want that?” 

reid shook his head before lucas nodded and focused back on the case. 

  
  


when the rest of the team returned to the station, reid gave out the profile to the officers, sharing as usual who they were looking out for, lucas was sitting front and center with the others, but he was zoned out, his mind kept going back to what happened a few weeks back. ever since what happened with clemson, lucas prayed and prayed every night that he didn’t have to go through something like that ever again. 

but lucas guessed that sometimes God didn’t have time for him or his prayers, at some point he believed it was his fault because he was a sin. 

“...cas!” 

lucas focused back to see emily standing in front of him with a concerned look on her face, she asked if he was crying; lucas wiped his tears away rapidly and shook his head. after sharing the profile, the team found an ID on the new victim that died last night. 

prentiss, morgan and lieutenant kim headed to the scene, lucas went to the bathroom to wash his face from the tears that came down his face. 

the others came back with the singer, dante that the victims had posters of, especially tara who was a fan, erin (the recent victim) was last seen with him, lucas looked outside to see a crowd of reporters, paparazzi and fans chanting ‘dante’ before going back into the room to join the others on the talk of dante. 

“so, do we think this singer is taking advantage of his fans and what takes his blood? i mean, dude did dress like a vamp” lucas pointed out looking at the posters. morgan decided for prentiss to take the lead, lucas has been feeling that he wasn’t useful in the case, and was most likely because of what happened. 

that was the thing, lucas could not not work because it meant staying at home and over thinking and having the memory hit back again. 

  
  


the case ended on a high note, with dante not being the unsub but in fact his manager and tara’s bff, the other hardcore fan being the unsubs, jj got injuried but she was fine expect for her ear getting a ringing. 

on the place ride back; lucas sat in the back alone when rossi approached him 

“to what do i owe the pleasure?” lucas asked not looking up from his book 

“just wanted to see how you’re doing” 

“oh my god! does no one understand i don’t wanna talk about it, fucking shit” lucas screamed hiding his face in his hands, 

lucas actually ended up falling asleep before they finally landed in quantico; the team headed into the office, lucas didn’t want to, he just wanted to go home but he wanted to stop by just in case of anything. 

being the last one to enter, he was called into hotch’s office, lucas felt like it was because of the fact of his outburst on the jet. 

“i know, i gave you two weeks off but i also did offer for you to ask for more weeks, which i see you didn’t take” 

“i know what you’re going to say hotch, i don’t need time off i need to be here, i  _ want  _ to be here, and if i’m not here i’m home reliving what happened and i don’t wanna relive what happened because it sucks, i still relive what happened with clemson” 

“i’m sorry, but cortez, you need to get your head together, i’m telling you to not come back till you are in a good headspace, that’s a order, i’m doing this for you” 

lucas let out a sigh, before nodding his head, hotch had a point, lucas was so out of it throughout the case, he nodded his head; hotch shared that if it was alright with lucas, he would like weekly updates from his therapist. 

“if it helps me get back on the field, i’m cool with it” 

lucas left hotch’s office before leaving straight to the elevator, everyone was gone, as lucas headed down he didn’t like being alone; suddenly, his chest tightened, and felt his hands getting sweaty, his heart was pounding so loud, he could hear it in his chest. 

he looked down at his hand and realized how shaky his hands was; when he stepped out of the elevator, he was breathing faster and faster; lucas’ vision was getting blurry. 

“lucas?” the voice sounded familiar but lucas couldn’t make it out, he suddenly felt a hand on his back, and it caused him to freak out. 

“no, no, let me go! please let me go!” lucas cried

“hey, hey, it’s morgan and garcia, listen to my voice and take in a big deep breath okay” 

lucas attempted but he shook his head as a response that he couldn’t, penelope said to take several breaths in counting slowly to ten. 

lucas finally took in a huge deep breath, before bowing his head; penelope held his hands, once a bit calmed; lucas asked: “what are you doing here so late” 

“i mean we all got here pretty late so…” penelope said. 

“cortez, is everything alright?”

“no, and i’m not coming back to work till then, because of everything going on, i just” lucas rubbed his forehead, morgan asked what was going on, which lucas basically explained what happened in hotch’s office. 

penelope shared that maybe it was best for lucas to take more time off than just two weeks, lucas nodded saying he just wants to go back to work because he didn’t want to be cooped up in his house thinking over and over again what happened. 

“you don’t necessarily have to stay in your house, but kid, this is what’s best for you” 

lucas nodded before apologizing over his panic attack, to which penelope shared that they were glad they were still here, before lucas left saying good night to both. 

  
  


arriving back at the apartment, lucas felt anxiety hit him, till he heard a ‘meow’ from the couch, easing him a little bit seeing that it was robin, lucas approached him and petted the cat before going to his room and sleeping for the remainder of the night. feeling completely drained from everything. 

  
  


the following day at lucas’ therapist appointment, he went straight in and just started ranting. 

“...and everyone just kept asking me throughout the case, ‘are you okay?, are you okay?’ like no of course i’m not okay, but i don’t wanna talk about it because it hurts but i also don’t want to not be working because if i’m not working then i’ll think about what happened and i don’t wanna think about what happened!” 

“i think you having more time off is better for you, if you push down all these feelings and ignore them completely, then you won’t be able to heal, you have to take care of yourself, and your team seems to care deeply about you” 

lucas nodded slowly, maybe she was right, they talked a bit more for the hour, before it finished with lucas saying if he can send the notes to hotch just as a reference. 


	17. 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> lucas has been dealing with everything that's been going on since his kidnapping and he realize he can't just push it away like last time

“i mean i’ve having recurring nightmares about it but i try to not” 

“what happens when dreams of either kidnapping or clemson happen?” 

“i’m reliving it so i end up getting up and robin my cat is there all cuddled up but i get up and i go downstairs and i drink a glass of water before i sit at the kitchen table and read a chapter or two before going back to sleep, sometimes i watch a little tv or speak to the ghost in my apartment”

lucas’ therapist nodded, it had been another two weeks since lucas hasn’t been at the BAU, and it plans to stay that way according to hotch until further notice. it sucked, but lucas admired the visits from jj, emily and penelope but he wishes he was back on the field; a sunk feeling told him that he’ll never go back. 

“so, i’ve been reading over the notes from your past therapist in new york, and seeing you now, i was wondering what are your thoughts on service dogs?” 

“i think they’re cool, why?” 

“i’m think maybe it’s best to have a service dog, with the PTSD you’ve been not dealing with as often and now going through something similar again, you’re saying you’re having panic attacks and can’t sleep at night because of dreams” 

lucas rubbed his hands, he was so use to being shamed for having so many emotions, he hardly discussed them, so when offered help, he feels bad and says no but the therapist is right, lucas hasn’t been dealing with what happened with clemson at all and when trying to deal with what happened in new york, he pushes it away again with work expect this time the team knows and cares of his health. 

“what happens if i go on a case? once i’m back at work?” 

“i’m sure the team and your supervisor would be okay with a service dog around, i know you run a tough job” 

lucas’ therapist gave him a website to look over for the service dog before leaving for the day. as lucas walked down the stairs to head out, he felt the eerie feeling again, he sometimes wondered what was the point of therapy if he was going to have this feeling constantly. 

the therapist was only fifteen minutes away from lucas’ apartment, so on the way back, he stopped by a cafe to get some food, a cup of hot chocolate, he loved sweets and when it’s winter and cold, he definitely loved hot chocolate. once, done, lucas finally arrived home and plotted on the couch. 

lucas grabbed hold of the remote before his cat, robin approached and sat next to him on the couch. it was like this almost every day, other times, the girls would swing by and talk to him, he had wanted to stop by the BAU to see how everyone is doing but he felt like it would cause him to miss work more, the thought of it caused him to miss work. 

instead, lucas grabbed his laptop and looked up the website he was given to by his therapist and saw all the things about a service dog and what it benefits. 

  
  


around 7 pm, lucas got a call from his cell, and picked up right away 

**_“lucas, speaking!”_ **

**_“hey, how are you?”_ **

**_“hi, em what’s up”_ **

**_“so the team is thinking of going to go do karaoke, and we were wondering if you like to go?”_ **

**_“um...i don’t know”_ ** **_  
_ ** **_“it’s fine! we just wanted to check, okay, b-”_ **

**_“wait! uh, send me the address”_ **

lucas wanted to see the team but the fact he decided to see them the one night they’re going to karaoke, was not the best choice, considering he got kidnapped at a karaoke bar. how stupid is he?

when lucas arrived, he saw emily with jj and penelope, probably the first ones here, which was not surprising at all. lucas approached them tapping emily on the shoulders. 

“oh my god! hi! now are you sure you wanna be here?” 

“yeah, i’m totally cool”

the three girls exchanged looks, they were not convince and just as jj was about to ask, lucas asked if they should go in, which penelope shared they were just waiting for the others; lucas asked who exactly was come and when emily said the team she meant the entire team. 

“even hotch?”

“yes, even hotch” emily responded. 

soon the others started arriving, spencer was nowhere to be seen but hotch was and when he saw lucas, he asked what he was doing here. lucas rebuttal sharing he’s fine and that he wanted to see the team after a while adding that it’s not like they were on a case. 

hotch decided not to argue with lucas and they all entered the place, penelope whispered to lucas, that it seemed that spencer didn’t show up, lucas wanted to call him but maybe he had other plans. 

“maybe if pretty boy gets a call from lucas that he’s here, he’ll come running” morgan joked 

“that is not true” lucas said, morgan just shook his head with a cocky smirk on his face, so lucas decided to call spencer to prove him run. 

**_“hello?”_ **

**_“hey, spence, where are you? we’re all waiting for you”_ **

**_“huh? what do you mean, aren’t you at home?”_ **

**_“what, emily didn’t tell you? i’m here with the team at karaoke, they said you were coming but i guess you have pla-”_ **

**_“no, no, sorry, i was occupied i’ll be there in a few minutes, bye”_ **

the line went dead and lucas looked back up with everyone waiting for a response, lucas said that morgan was right and spencer was coming in a few minutes 

“ha! see, i guess pretty boy is now lover boy”

“what?”

“come on, don’t act dumb, reid likes you” 

“moving on to another topic, please and thanks”

  
  


spencer did show up, and was glad to see lucas, the young agent forgot spencer was in crutches, and rushed over to him and apologized over and over again saying he forgot reid was in crutches. 

“it’s fine, really, i’m glad your out here” 

lucas smiled, and that warm feeling hit him again, the same one that hit him when he first met spencer back in new york. 

soon, everyone but reid and hotch had signed up for karaoke, which suck because lucas wanted to sing with reid. 

as the night continued on, lucas ended up back at the table with reid, so far nothing has caused lucas to recur memories of that night or have a breakdown. but suddenly, he needed to use the bathroom, lucas got up and told spencer he’ll be right back before dashing to the bathroom hoping it wasn’t crowded. 

lucky for lucas it wasn’t, so he was in and out quick and went back to the table to find spencer nowhere to be found, everyone else was near the front of the stage watching morgan sing; lucas turned all around and nothing, so he slowly starting making his way towards the front door, but there as so many people who kept going the opposite direction as lucas, they kept pushing him, he just shut his eyes till then. 

soon, he felt a hand on his waist but it didn’t stay there for long, but it caused lucas to lose it, tears began to swell, and his heart started pounding. 

_ ‘oh no, oh no’  _

lucas as sure what to do, his vision was blurry at this point like the night of his kidnapping and that thought didn't help him either as he pushed further, once out of the mosh of people, lucas couldn’t breath, he clenched his shirt before he felt a hand on his shoulder. 

“ah!” 

“lucas, hey, hey it’s me!” it was spencer, he had his phone in his hand, assuring he was making a call or someone called him. lucas shoved him lightly (which wasn’t fair) and snapped at spencer for just leaving out of nowhere and leaving lucas alone.

“i’m sorry, it’s just someone called me and i had to answer i couldn’t hear with the music and everything”

lucas felt bad, and stupid; he felt bad for snapping at spencer and felt stupid for coming out to a karaoke bar tonight instead of staying home and going out with the team another night but elsewhere more safe.

“i’m going to take you home” spencer said

“no, i’m fine, please”

“lucas, come on, i’ll get your stuf-”

“no, i’ll come with you” 

spencer told the others he was going to take lucas home, so they all wished him good night before spencer and lucas left to his apartment. 

  
  


“you really don’t have to stay” lucas replied 

“how have you been sleeping?” 

“bad, i keep getting nightmares about clemson or jensen, it’s just a lot and i can’t take it” 

spencer let out a sigh, he wished he can help lucas with everything he could only do so much; the pair sat on the couch with robin, as lucas tried to forget what happened at the karaoke bar with watching a movie. 

at some point lucas got sleepy and wanted to sleep, he offered spencer the bed because of his leg, but the genius shook his head saying lucas should take it and he wasn’t going to take no for an answer, lucas was too tired to argue so he nodded as he trotted to his bed with robin following. 

around two am, spencer woke to the sound of crying, he wasn’t sure if it was the ghost that lived in lucas’ apartment or lucas himself; so spencer got his crutches and headed to lucas’ room to find a teary lucas. 

“lucas?” 

“s-spence, hey, sorry” lucas wiped away his tears, spencer asked if he was okay and lucas shook his head no, spencer slowly sat on the bed and put his crutches to his side before asking lucas if there as anything he can do 

“just stay here a few more minutes” 

“of course”

the following morning, lucas thanked spencer for what he did last night, and all spencer could say was that he was glad he was here, he hated seeing his friends hurt, which caused lucas to almost cry again. 

“i think i might get a service dog, my therapist suggested one for me with everything i’m going through”

“i think that’s a good idea”

  
  


when lucas went back to his therapist, he shared what happened, explaining to her, his irrational thoughts and how spencer was really caring and how he is considering a service dog. 

“i’m glad you wanted to meet your team again, but i think next time you have to be precaution about where you're going and how it can trigger you”

“yeah, i know that now”

“i understand the club or bar can be fun, you’ll get to go to them again, when you’re ready of course”

lucas nodded, she was right, he can’t keep pushing down what’s going on or forget it by ignoring it with something else, if he didn’t deal with it, how was he going to heal? 


	18. 𝟏𝟎𝟎

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> lucas is called into the office after weeks, about a recent case that involved foyet and strauss wanted answered from the team (even lucas). however, during his visit, he has revealed something about a number that has been constantly calling him for weeks and when it reveals, it causes some tension between reid and lucas

lucas marched into the BAU confused on why he was called by strauss to come in today, he saw everyone in the bullpen, and pushed the door open and had everyone's eyes on him. the young agent gave a small smile before making his way over to them.

"lucas? what are you doing here?" morgan asked

"strauss called, but i'm not sure about what" lucas said, penelope asked if lucas considered getting a service dog like the therapist recommended. lucas shook his head saying, it was most likely not something he was considering at the moment.

"that doesn't mean i'm shutting down my feelings, i'm seeing my therapist regularly so don't worry" lucas said smiling, penelope nodded before lucas asked the others if they knew why he was here, emily suggested that it was most likely because strauss wanted to talk to him about what recently happened on the case. lucas furrowed his eyebrows, he wasn't here when everything went down with foyet and hotch's family.

"i guess when you stopped by to see garcia, it was suggested"

"still wouldn't make sense, since i wasn't here for that long"

but lucas had no other choice, everyone was being questioned by strauss, which lucas found annoying, he didn't think hotch deserved this right now, not after losing hailey, he should be at home resting with jack but no, of course strauss wants to go ahead and question his entire career.

jj was currently in the room with strauss, the others were outside waiting to be called in; spencer took this time to approach lucas and see how he was doing. but emily approached him first, and spencer didn't want to intervene.

"so, how you doing?"

"i'm doing okay, i mean here" lucas said before adding he's been seeing his therapist and all he wants to do is go back on the field. emily gave him a look of empathy before saying that it was best if lucas rested but when it's needed he will return

"i'm just scared that i'll lose interest over this job, and i love working as an FBI agent, and i love work with you guys but what if after everything that happened, i'll have no love of coming back"

"you'll come back, lucas, i know it"

hours past, and lucas can't help and think back to that day when the case went down.

_lucas had his visitor badge on, which was stupid but since he was on leave, he had to wear the badge regardless. lucas knew the team was on a case, so he headed to penelope because he knew it was about foyet._

_"penelope!"_

_"ah!" she yelled nearly spilling her coffee, she hissed at lucas for scaring her like that, the young agent apologized quickly before asking what was going on with foyet; penelope said she wasn't sure if she can tell lucas_

_"for starters, strauss isn't here, if that's what your worried about and two, it's not like i'll act upon anything"_

_penelope seemed hesitant before letting lucas know everything about what was going on with the case. lucas asked if hailey and jack were safe but it was most likely foyet had reached out to them and tricked them into trusting them._

_"how's hotch dealing with it?"_

_"he's having a tough time, worried about his family"_

_lucas wanted to ask penelope if she knew where the team was so he can go out and help them but she had notice the look on his face._

_"lucas, don't you think about it!"_

_"pen, i need to help i just-"_

_"no, hotch knew this would happen, so i cannot tell you anything"_

_lucas believed it was his time to go, he bid penelope farewell and to please let him know about anything_.

spencer was next, lucas tugged his sleeve catching spencer's attention and said: "when you get in there, tell strauss that i said, fuck you" the genius replied that he wasn't sure if he can keep that promise to lucas. lucas let out a laugh as spencer walked away, suddenly his phone rang which confused him but when he looked down to see it was the same number that has been calling him since he arrived back at quantico after what happened.

"what's up?" jj asked once she finally made her way to lucas, who just shook his head and said: "this number from nevada, keeps calling me, for weeks now"

"and you haven't blocked it"

"i just have this gut feeling that there's a reason"

penelope approached them and first apologized for over hearing and then asked if she can check out the number, lucas seemed hesitant at first but then nodded before handing over his phone to penelope, and she told lucas to have him follow her.

"alright, so it's not hard to track someone's number especially if it's not a burner phone, do you know a pilar cortez?"

lucas was left stunned, he heard the door opened from the conference room where strauss was bringing everyone in, lucas rushed out leaving penelope in the office but soon followed behind. when lucas reached spencer, he shoved him lightly which got everyone's attention.

"what did you do while you were in nevada?" lucas snapped

"i-i don't know what you mean" spencer answered

"bullshit! why has my sister been calling me for the past weeks?"

spencer stammered over his word, lucas shoved him once again; spencer hated seeing lucas like this but he couldn't lie to him, it wasn't his place but he also felt like he was helping lucas reconnect with his family; which is what spencer explained to lucas.

"you had no right! what happened between me and my family is my business! not yours, i get your some genius but that doesn't give you a right to stick your nose in places where they shouldn't be!" lucas snapped, before he could continue, strauss called out his name, lucas glared heavily at spencer before walking away.

when lucas was sat across from strauss, he notice the tape recorder; he eye rolled at her, when it came to strauss, lucas hated her, she was annoying and constantly tried to bring hotch down and this case gave her everything.

"so, lucas when did you join the quantico team?"

" last year, 2008, it was after a case the BAU had there in new york city"

"who recruited you"

"at the time, unit chief aaron hotchner"

strauss asked why did lucas decided to join their branch; which lucas replied that his ex-boyfriend had called aaron and told him that lucas was fit for the job, which strauss added that lucas didn't want to be here, which caused him to roll his eyes.

"i didn't say that, i wanted this job but ben was the reason i didn't go right away"

strauss nodded, before lucas asked if strauss could just get to the point of the meeting and all this tape recording stuff. strauss let out a sigh, before asking if lucas knew about the case that recently happened.

lucas snapped back saying that was the reason he was here in the first place. strauss rolled her eyes, she had a hard time talking to lucas, who constantly talked back to her about anything, he was surprised that strauss never fired him; then again, strauss wasn't always at the new york branch.

"what do you think of agent hotchner's leadership in the past few months"

"of course this is what it's about"

strauss furrowed her eyebrows before asking lucas what he meant, which lucas expanded that strauss wanted to do this whole thing just to blame hotch or make hotch feel worse, lucas bite his tongue before he said anything that would make him look worse.

"are you going to speak?"

"i don't get why you're mad and blaming hotch for this, is not going to make you seem better at your job!" lucas snapped back. strauss hit her hand on the table, having lucas jumped, it reminded him of his time at home, causing him to shrink back against his chair like a child

_"you're such a disgrace to this family! why do you think your mom and i are constantly mad at you? because we didn't want you!"_

"...gent cortez!"

lucas focused back on strauss again, and saw the anger on her face, lucas took in a deep breath before saying: "look, this case was a bit personal for hotch, he wanted his family to be safe and no one else to get hurt, don't you understand what foyet was doing?"

"that's no excuse to act reckless on a case"

"i highly disagree, hotch did his best, with this case, but if you just wanna blame hotch for anything because we already know you had it out for him for a long time, so whatever you wanna put down for this stupid confession shit, go ahead but here's one last thing for your tape recorder" lucas leaned into the machine and said: "fuck you" before leaving.

lucas was furious about everything, about spencer talking with his sister and now strauss being a pain in the ass. all he wanted to do was go home but he wasn't sure if he was allowed to, so he headed back out to the bullpen.

"lucas? can we talk?" spencer said, approaching him.

"no, but i'm sure you'll talk to my sister about it eventually," lucas snapped before shoving past spencer.

all lucas wanted to do was kick something, he felt all his anger building up in him, he would be lucky if strauss didn't fire him or anything after his little scene in the conference room. emily found lucas outside of the offices, she approached him and asked if everything was alright.

"no, i'm furious emily, i just wanna kick something"

"listen, i'm not sure what exactly reid did, but i'm sure he meant well"

"i mean, he clearly didn't if he went behind my back and talked to my sister who i haven't talked to since i left for college" lucas snapped, with everything that has been going on, lucas can't help but feel inferior, before saying that he wasn't sure if he can leave but he wanted to leave.

after a while, they all sat in the round table room where jack has been with rossi for the past hour, lucas didn't sit too close to spencer, he was still mad at him, but stayed in support of hotch, finally when hotch made his way to the room, and was greeted by the team and jack. lucas got up as everyone approached hotch and let him know he wasn't alone.

later that evening, lucas was home, finishing up his dinner when the door was knocked on, lucas approached the door to see spencer outside of his door.

"what do you want reid?"

"can i come in? can we talk?"

lucas couldn't stay mad at spencer forever, and it was probably the cane that was having lucas feel sympathy but he let him in. spencer walked in and began to apologize, lucas listened to everything that spencer had to say before lucas spoke.

"i understood what you were doing, but spencer, that's something i have to deal with, i'm sorry for shoving you but i was kind of pissed off at you"

"completely understandable,i'm sorry lucas"

lucas smiled softly at spencer before asking if he wanted to stay for dinner, spencer nodded if it was okay with lucas.

"i'm the one who asked you so yes, please"

lucas didn't like the feeling he was having when he was around spencer, the feeling was of warmth and loving; lucas bit his lips trying to ignore the feeling, this is the one thing that lucas couldn't think or talk about, he had to shove it down.

' _holy shit i think i like reid'_


	19. 𝐚 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐮𝐦𝐩𝐡 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> lucas returns to the BAU after events that happened to hotch, the first case back helps lucas reveal how much he admires the BAU but also allows him to open up to someone

it was lucas’ first week back at the BAU after a long period of time, hotch was out still recovering from everything that happened with foyet and hailey. lucas felt happy coming back, he missed working with the team and he definitely missed seeing them. 

“lucas! are you officially back?” penelope asked, approaching him, lucas nodded, sharing he was, that he was good and also that hotch was out and morgan needed a team. when lucas entered the bull pen, he saw spencer and walked his way over to him 

“hey you” 

“lucas!” spencer said happy and surprised to see the young agent, lucas smiles as emily and jj approached them. emily hugged lucas, asking if he’s alright and all lucas did was nod his head, he was glad he was here just in time for a case, it was in san francisco, lucas went there once with his abuela, before she passed away when lucas was 9 years old.

  
  


“so, men have been being killed left and right, bodies dumped near the golden state bridge, none of these men have anything in common expect working high class jobs, CEOS and such” 

“those damn white men” lucas said, shaking his fist jokingly (half jokingly). it seemed like the episode was given multiple stab wounds, the bodies would show up three days after getting taken. jackson worthington was the recent one, which meant they had to get a move on. 

on the plane, the team discussed a bit what they picked up from the police reports and such, so far there wasn’t much to go off on, since all the victims were nothing in common. 

“all these guys do also do expensive activities” lucas commented 

“what do you mean?” rossi asked 

“country club, and such, maybe they unsub works at where most of these men went, felt envious of the money they had and how they treated employers like the unsub” 

morgan ordered garcia to see if there was a common place that the victims all went to, including the recent victim. morgan assigned everyone where to go, lucas was told to go with jj to the station, he knew that the team especially morgan would have him take it slow till then, they didn’t want anything of what happened last time to happen again. 

  
  


when they landed, jj and lucas headed to the station, as ordered, and introduced themselves to sheriff ridges. sheriff ridges shared that the families would be arriving soon to talk to jj and the others, and took them where they’ll be during their time at the station. 

“thank you so much”

“here if you need anything else” 

lucas thanked the sheriff as she walked out of the room, lucas focused back to where jj was and they started up on the board, and talked about what they already knew. lucas sat there thinking why would the unsub be attacking these men, what was the motive? jj walked over and asked lucas if he had anything

“all i can think of, is how the possibility that these victis probably go to the same place where the unsub was able to be in the same presence as them because, how else would the unsub have chosen his victims?” lucas commented. jj nodded, and shared that hopefully soon they got more information from the team who were out there on the field at the moment. 

  
  


once the team gathered back at the station, they discussed some additional information about the victims, which lucas placed on the board for further notice. at that time, garcia calls in to share some information on the victims. 

“so, today’s gold star goes to lucas cortez!”

“first case back and i got a gold star yay…” lucas said smiling 

“okay, so you were on the right track on the whole similar events, all victims including our most recent victim had attending a charity event, where a bunch of fancy rich people attended, and our five victims all went there, but nothing happened at the event,” 

prentiss pointed out that there was a possibility that the unsub worked at the event or was like the victims, a person of upper class, but lucas rebuttal, he believed that the unsub was someone who was in middle class, indicating that the victims each had expensive items on them and they were not at the crime scene. 

“so what, he kidnaps rich folks, tells them how it is then stabs them and takes their stuff?” 

“there could be more to it, but if the unsub is taking their stuff, it’s possible that he went to pawn shops” hotch replied. 

lucas asked if garcia could pull up a list of pawn shops in the area and send it to the team, which garcia shared she happily could. 

reid approached lucas and patted him lately on the back, before saying: “it’s good to see you back”

“feels good to be back” 

lucas called the venue where the event was held and asked for the guest list, and everyone who was working there that night. once gathered the list, lucas shared that vanessa reynolds was the person in charge, and that he was going to tell the others to reach out to vanessa see if there was anyone who stood out. 

“the unsub probably feels ashamed for being in such a lower class, maybe even went to a majority privilege student body school or was even taunted about not having enough money by peers, so years later he lashes out” lucas shared to jj. 

  
  


suddenly sheriff ridges came into the room and announced that another body showed up at the golden gate, lucas told jj to go because he was still trying to figure out how the golden gate bridge fits into all of this. what did the famous bridge mean to the unsub? what was the significance of dumping bodies there? 

“you seem like you have smoke coming out of your ears” rossi said as he came into the room, lucas shared that he was just frustrated on how he wasn’t sure how the bridge fits in, before asking rossi if talking with the family again helped anything but nothing they didn’t know anything, or even talked to the other victims and their family at the event. 

lucas let out a heavy sign before dropping his head on the table with the feeling of frustration hit him, rossi suggested that lucas rest, but lucas shared that he wasn’t going to rest till the case ended, till then he had to get his head in the game. rossi nodded before going back out there to deliver the profile

  
  
  


garcia called again, sharing that she went through everyone in the list that the venue had given, and shared one person fit the profile, someone named anthony talons, he had a record of breaking into homes and stealing valuable things. garcia shared the address to his apartment and the team headed out. 

but anthony was not at home, however during that time, another man was taken, which put them in a backward step for the case. lucas believed that there was a secondary location, why else would he not be at home beside taking another victim. 

reid notices lucas sitting in front of the board before approaching him. 

“don’t say anything,” lucas commented with his back still turned from reid. 

reid looked at the map, and asked if lucas figured out about the bridge, and he shook his head and shared that maybe there was no connection to the bridge and it was just a signature or it was his favorite spot in san francisco. 

“you know, my abuela use to live in san francisco, it was nice, i love visiting, while i was at my abuela with my family, it was the happiest i’ve ever been, my parents didn’t hurt me or anything because my abuela was there to protect me...all of that ended when she passed away when i was nine, the funeral was here too, and i couldn’t stop crying and crying and my dad scolded me for it, and i prayed my abuela come back as an angel to protect me, but nothing, i mean look at what happened to me with clemson and jensen, new york does not treat me well” 

reid hated hearing lucas talk low about himself, he gently grabbed his hand and sharing none of it was his fault, lucas gave him a small smile, and said thank you. 

the team found where anthony was, and headed over to make the arrest before he killed his final victim, during the wait to find where anthony was, they discovered that anthony was a gifted student, studied at a prestigious high school where he was taunted constantly for being middle class, after a gym class, a group of boys took his uniform and he had no clothes and remain in the locker room till the coach found him. 

the team arrested anthony and they were finally on their way back home. 

  
  


the team landed and headed back to the BAU building to board their car and leave for the night, lucas bid farewell to the team before hopping into his car and driving home, when he suddenly forgot to talk to someone, and immediately drove to the apartment. 

spencer made his way up his apartment when he saw a tired lucas sitting right outside. 

“lucas?” 

“i had to share something with you that i completely forgot”

“it couldn’t wait till morning?” 

lucas shook his head as he got up and waited for spencer to unlock the door, once both were in, spencer asked what did lucas wanted to share. 

“i finally talked to my sister, after weeks and weeks, she talked most, i haven’t forgive her right away, it’ll take time but it was actually nice to actually talk to a family member” lucas said rubbing his arms, spencer shared he was glad for lucas before the young agent apologized for appearing all of a sudden and was going to head out. 

“i’ll walk you out” 

“alright” 

when lucas arrived home, he took off his jacket, kicked off his shoes, placed his bag on the couch and flopped on the bed before sleeping the rest of the night. it was a long night and he needed to sleep, after a long case; he always had a long case if he thought about it. 

but lucas’ thoughts about spencer came back, he hummed softly, the thought of spencer made lucas feel safe and warm. 

a low groan came from outside, and it was those damn ghost, lucas had to deal with. a sudden thought ran over lucas, that perhaps it was better that he didn’t visit new york in a while, it should’ve accorded to him a while ago but it was suddenly hitting him. 

the tiredness was taking over him as he felt his eyes get heavy before they finally close.


	20. 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐲 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐲

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the team takes a case in atlantic city, which lucas believes it's creepy on a whole different level and also having to deal with his emotions about reid

lucas was currently in his kitchen, finishing up his breakfast, robin, his cat was eating his food on the counter which caused lucas to look over at the cat and say: “if you throw up a hairball, i’m never letting you eat on the counter again” 

soon his phone went off, lucas glanced over the text message to see it was a message from hotch saying to come in quick, because there was a case. lucas let out a sign before putting his bowl in the sink, set up robin’s food for the next few days and grabbed his go bag before making his way down to the BAU office. 

lucas drove over to the office, wishing he had stopped for hot chocolate on the way over, but didn’t want to be late so instead he continued on making his way over. arriving at the BAU, lucas got out and headed inside, and once he was off the elevator, he was greeted by emily. 

“hey, you look sad. what’s wrong?” 

“i didn’t get hot chocolate, i love having some warm beverage like hot chocolate in the morning, especially when freezing weather,” lucas replied, giving emily a tired look. emily patted his back before they both headed into the round room where the others were. 

morgan made the same comment as emily, asking lucas why he had a long look on his face. the young agent shook his head saying it wasn’t anything important, jj addressed the new and recent case.

“rita straut, 25, the second victim in atlantic city” 

the picture demonstrated a women in a fancy dress with her hair and make up down, the body was dumped at the merry-go round which meant with the appearance, there was remorse. the victim before was found at a playground with the same fancy dress, and hair and makeup done. 

the team went on about what the possibilities were, what were the connections, victimology and a possible m.o, hotch told them to be ready to leave for atlantic city in twenty minutes. lucas let out a small sigh before walking out with the others. 

but lucas also stayed back a bit, to talk to spencer who got up and noticed lucas waiting for him. 

“well how’d you spend your morning before being rushed here” lucas asked, spencer replied that he stopped by the park to play some chess, shared that he hasn’t gone for a while, lucas asked if it was because of his leg, but spencer shook his head before saying that it was something he didn’t want to talk about. 

“yeah of course” 

“how about you?” 

lucas hummed in response to what spencer meant, who responded that lucas looked sad when he arrived in the round room. lucas nodded before sharing that since he was rushing to work, that he didn’t get a chance to get himself a hot chocolate. spencer apologized to lucas, hoping he gets one soon, lucas nodded before adding quickly that he hasn’t spoken to his sister but she still calls. spencer asked if lucas plans on to any time soon, lucas replied: “let’s get through this case, and we’ll talk” 

  
  


on the plan ride over, they went over more detail of what the unsub is doing to the victims based on what they found so far on the past two victims. it was most likely that the unsub was a woman and not a man, beside that adding how the unsub had to have possible access to I.V and drugs with the amount of drugs found in the bodies of the victims. 

“all the victims are small and petite, and dressed like dolls...which the only thing so far that we have on the victims” lucas said, as they continued talking, garcia suddenly appeared on screen with a reddish-orange hair. 

lucas gasped softly before telling garcia that he loved her new hair color, garcia thanked him before continuing on what she found so far. 

“at first only both garments were made from chiffon, but with the wonder twin powers of the atlantic city police and my impeccable eye for fashion, we have also determined that these garments fit ridiculously well.” 

discussing a bit about the outfits that the women are wearing, and it was possible that the outfits were sewed for the specific size of each woman. lucas pointed out that the outfits were possibly created by the unsub themselves, and bought fabric and such from stores, where they could have a history on who bought what. 

hotch assigned everyone where to go, reid and lucas were placed to check out the latest autopsy to check out about the drugs that were used in the bodies. lucas hated seeing dead bodies, it turned his insides out. 

once the jet landed, everyone set out, lucas grabbed hold of reid’s sleeve and followed him down to the morgue, reid asked how was lucas an fbi agent if seeing dead bodies naseouted him, lucas snapped back saying that reid was excused of any physical activities at the academy. 

“fine, fine” reid said, he quickly glanced down at lucas’ hand that was gripped around his sleeve. 

once they arrived in the morgue, reid asked questions about the drugs that were in the victims and how it was possible the unsub could have access to them. beside the drugs, there was evidence that the victims had hair extensions on them to hide that their actual hair was falling out. they continued talking till they got an idea what happened to the bodies before concluding with asking if the victims had the hair extensions placed before or after.

“before” 

when reid and lucas were out of there, lucas felt shivers down his spine before sharing that he was glad he was out of there. reid responded that they should head back to the station and talk with the others about what they found. 

on the drive back, lucas couldn’t help but keep glancing over at reid, ever since he realized that he had feelings for reid, it was hard for him to be around spencer alone without all of his feelings building up inside him. lucas knew the feelings of having a crush (is that what you saw as an adult? crush?), and if it’s serious it doesn’t go away. that’s how it was with ben, lucas was over the moon about how he got to see ben everyday after school at drama class. 

“you alright?” 

“i’m okay, just wandering thoughts and all” lucas replied. 

  
  


as soon as the group, well regrouped, they discussed further on what they found out about the victims from their family members and or loved ones, and added on to what reid and lucas found out from the autopsy report. lucas asked if they reached out to tailors about the fabrics, and there was no overlap however. 

garcia checked in once more, sharing some new information about a new victim, sharing that someone named cindy admundson was abducted outside a thrift shop. 

the case was slowly wrapping up, they had found out that samantha malcolm was possible the unsub, reid and rossi headed to his office, after finding out that samantha was given electroshock therapy and reid believed it was too intense for a young child to have electroshock therapy. 

turned out dr. arthur malcolm had molested samantha at a young age and gave her dolls as a way of an apology from him and included the shock therapy to have samantha forget what happened when she was younger. which course when she grew up and realized that the dolls her dad gave her, were no longer for her, caused samantha to take bigger ‘dolls’ for herself. 

reid was the first to realize it and the first to go in and help samantha not feel scared, with bringing her doll. lucas and the others stood near the dining hall but not visible to samantha, listening to what reid was doing to help her. 

as soon as he got her at ease, the team barged in, samantha seemed scared of being taken away but reid assured her that her dolls would go with her and never leave her again. as soon as samantha was taken away, lucas told reid congrats on his work. 

  
  
  


arriving home, it was early morning, lucas was extremely turned, when trying to get up, he kept falling asleep, emily ended up taking him home, because she didn’t take her care that day. 

“lucas, where’s your keys?” 

“in...ocket” lucas mumbled, 

emily grabbed hold of them and unlocked the door and helped lucas to his bed. once the young agent was laying down, emily helped slip off his shoes. Before telling lucas, she was going to leave his keys and stuff in the living room. lucas called over emily and she did as he told her, 

“what’s up kiddo?”

“i need to tell you something, i like reid a lot and when i’m around him i get these warm feelings and i liked kissing him, it was nice”

emily looked at lucas, he must’ve been so tired he wasn’t even sure what he was doing or saying, emily wished lucas good night before heading on out of his apartment, locking the door behind her. 

  
  


later that evening, lucas woke up with hunger and the terror from the last case, it really freaked him out, especially the whole needles in the vein, it shook him to the core, a knock came from his door, causing lucas to get up and make his way to the door and answered to find spencer with food in his hands. 

“did you bring me food?”

“you seemed extremely tired after the case today” 

“i had trouble sleeping, with everything that happened on the case and well you know, it’s been hard” 

spencer nodded before lucas finally let him into the apartment to eat, spencer had brought chinese food, they ate on the couch with robin watching them from afar waiting for spencer to give him a piece of his meat. 

“don’t give it to him, he’ll throw up!” lucas hissed, spencer nodded as the pair continued eating. 

spencer noticed lucas started to seem more distant after a while, which caused him to ask if everything was alright. 

“yeah, i’m fine really, just thinking, nothing major” lucas said facing spencer. lucas hated looking at spencer, because when the pair looked at one another, it felt like they were sharing messages between one another. 

“have your eyes always been brown” lucas mumbled. 

spencer’s face turn red, lucas let out a small laugh before realizing it was eleven pm and suggested for spencer to head on home before the ghost came out and threw him out. spencer nodded before grabbing his bag and headed out, telling lucas good bye and petting robin on his way. 

once spencer was gone, lucas plopped onto the couch, he wanted to rush out and ask spencer to stay not because of the night terrors but because he just wanted his company around, he hated having this feeling, and not being able to do much about it. 

“i really should go out and start seeing people” 


	21. 𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐬

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the team takes a trip to alaska, which leads to the typical "oh no there's one bed" troupe, causing lucas to worry how he'll be around spencer come night fall

“he was cute, though emily! if you don’t want his number or plan on calling him please hand over the number of the very attractive british dude that i hope i see again” lucas said. on their last case, they worked with a team, whose team leader was an old friend of hotch, they had a sniper named mick rawson, who was british and that lucas found extremely attractive and emily found him obnoxious 

currently, emily, jj, lucas and penelope were out and about; lucas was slowly getting comfortable about his surroundings, for now he still dodged clubs but went out with friends when he could. last week, spencer had taken lucas to a cat cafe, knowing that lucas admired cats. 

penelope approached them with tons of bags, jj asked if they were all for henry, penelope stayed quiet for a few moments before responding: “they’re not all for henry, this one’s for kevin” penelope showed a small bag which caused lucas and emily to let out a laugh. jj shook her head before saying she didn’t have to buy so much for henry. 

“as his fairy godmother, i deserve to spoil my godson” penelope rebuttal. 

the four were having fun till emily’s phone rang. 

“oh, well ladies and lucas, looks let we gotta go to the office” 

lucas let out a quiet groan before they all trailed to emily’s car to get back to the BAU for the case. emily mentioned along the way about getting a cat, which lucas insisted that she does. 

  
  


at the BAU, almost everyone but hotch and rossi were there, who once walked in, looking disappointed, he had a fancy suit on which caused emily to ask if he was working on wife number four, rossi rolled his eyes before he shared that he deals with them too much.

  
  


“wait we’re going to alaska?” asked lucas once the case was shared with the group about what was going on, and added that penelope will be joining them because it will help them be more connected with her if she was on the trip. lucas turned back to penelope who stood at the door giving her a thumbs up. hotch said they needed to move fast because they had only got another day before another murder. 

everyone wore an extra layer due to the coldness in alaska. reid sat across from lucas and asked how he was doing, the young agent shrugged his shoulders before he noticed hotch called them over to discuss a bit more on the case. 

when the team landed, they were taken to a smaller plane to fly into town, lucas found it uncomfortable and squishy, he was between jj and reid, his face turning red slightly when his hand accidentally touched reid’s knee and removed it quickly before anything. the plane landed and they all got out and saw the police they were working with, who introduced themselves to hotch and the rest. hotch assigned everyone where to go, putting lucas with garcia on records, even though garcia being the amazing technician she is, would be able to handle it on her own. 

before any movement, the team headed to where they were staying for the days they were in alaska. lucas wished he can just throw himself on the bed but first, they had to get to work. 

garcia got straight to work, lucas asked if she needed anything before laughing quietly and then added that it was most likely garcia didn’t need help. just as she started to get things situated, a guy who seemed around lucas’ age or younger approached garcia and asked what she was doing. 

this allowed garcia to share what her job was, which minused the whole blazing guns, and added that she can find out about josh (whose mom owns the place they were staying at). garcia pulled up his information, leaving him amazed. 

“don’t mess with garcia, she’ll find out every little thing of you before you can say anything” 

lucas introduced himself to josh, before sitting beside garcia, who turned and asked lucas how he was doing. 

“i’m doing okay, just you know, there, and don’t worry i won’t have an outburst like last time where i ended up yelling at rossi and threaten to club reid with his crutch” 

“you threaten reid?” 

“sure” 

later in the evening, the group regrouped and discussed what they discovered so far from the morgue and crime scene. it was getting extremely late however, and most of the team was tired which caused hotch to have them rest up for the following morning and the sheriff shared that there were four rooms upstairs available for the team. 

“four?” they all asked, it was apparently the only rooms available which meant that they had to double up in the shared room. morgan automatically shared he wasn’t going to share a room with reid, having garcia volunteer to share a room with morgan. 

prentiss and jj were going to share a room and so was hotch and rossi, 

“that leaves me with you” lucas said, smiling softly at the boy wonder. 

lucas was in the room for five minutes before rushing to jj and prentiss’ room and knocking rapidly on their door, jj opened it and asked what was going on, he gently pushed pass jj and prentiss before telling them: “i lied i can’t share a room with reid” 

“why he read aloud?” 

“no but that would add on to reasons” 

prentiss asked why can lucas share a room with reid, lucas let out a sigh.

“so, i mean he already knows i have nightmare but still, him, and me in a bed together” 

jj’s eyes widened, realizing what was going on and whispering: “you like reid!” 

prentiss looked back at lucas in shock, (well pretending because she sort of knew after taking lucas home one night). lucas felt his face turn red, and jj offered that if lucas wanted, they can trade rooms. lucas shook his head, saying that he didn’t want reid to think that he didn’t like reid. 

“you’ll be fine it’s just a night or two” 

lucas nodded slowly, before hesitating going back to his room, prentiss shared that it’ll be fine. 

  
  


lucas approached the room and opened it slightly just to see reid already in bed with his book in his head, making lucas wonder if he sleeps, the thought of sleeping in the same bed as reid, caused butterflies in his stomach. the last time he shared a bed with someone was with ben, lucas reached the bed and lied down on his side of the bed before turn over to face reid, who was intrigued by his book. 

“what are you reading?” lucas said as he yawned at the same time. reid demonstrated the book, which caused lucas’ eyes to widen. it was  _ pride and prejudice,  _ he had recommended it to reid a few weeks ago, but he shared it wasn’t his type of genre which caused lucas to roll his eyes. 

“oh my...you’re reading? really?” lucas said, sitting up and scooting a bit closer to reid, to take a glance at the pages. lucas joked saying that if reid was going to take his recommendations that they should trade list of books to read for one another. 

“that’s a good idea” 

“let me guess, you’re already re-reading this” lucas said, remembering that reid can read at a fast pace. the boy wonder nodded his head, causing lucas to let out a light laugh before lay back down and turn over to the other side. lucas can feel reid’s eyes on him, unsure what to say or do, so instead he brushed it off and closed his eyes. 

  
  


reid woke up around three am to feel kicking against his legs, he turned on the lamp on his side and looked over to see lucas kicking under the covers, clutching onto his pillow and tears streaming down his face. 

“lucas? lucas?” reid was attempting to wake him up. 

_ “let me go! please!” lucas was tied up in a chair again but it wasn’t in jensen’s apartment, it was more of a warehouse, cold and empty; and he saw two figures that resembled clemson and fred jensen. the tears kept coming, with the fear of getting harmed again.  _

“lu...cas!” 

the young agent sat up and saw reid facing towards him, with a worried look on his face, like that time reid stayed over lucas’ apartment; lucas felt embarrassed, he quickly grabbed his stuff and quickly headed out before he was stopped by reid. 

“where are you going?” 

“elsewhere, i don’t want you to see me like this, in fact i hate it” 

“what? Why?” 

lucas shared that he didn’t want to be seen as a victim or anything by reid, that it sucked that he had to deal with this even when he was slightly getting better, the tears starting coming up again as if lucas didn’t cry enough. reid was hesitant but he gently grabbed lucas and pulled him into a hug. 

“it sucks, i wish there was something i can do so you didn't have to deal with this, but you’re strong, lucas, i mean it’s textbook definition of PT-”

“don’t say anything dr. spencer reid would say, something that spencer would say, minus the intelligent stuff” 

reid hummed softly, letting lucas calm down. 

once lucas was at ease, he wiped away his tears, and apologized for what happened, reid shook his head saying that lucas had nothing to apologize for; the pair stood quiet for a few moments before returning to the bed, this time facing one another, lucas felt his face turn red but also felt comfort knowing that reid was here. 

  
  


the following day, it seemed something happened over night, with garcia, she had witnessed a murder, the victim name was craig ramey, he was a fisherman that both prentiss and morgan met yesterday, it seemed that the stabs were jagged. lucas went to make sure garcia was fine, and all reid wanted was for lucas to be alright. 

“do not treat me like a victim on a case, please” garcia begged, that feeling caused lucas to relate to the feeling, he felt bad for garcia, he rubbed her back as she hid her face into her hands. morgan joined them as he began to ask her questions, which caused garcia to groan lightly. 

lucas got up at some point and walked over to the other team, after much discussion and morgan talking with garcia. joshua, who was considered a suspect among other men who fit a similar profile, was placed in custody till the following day. however, joshua was not considered a suspect after another murder happen over night- to joshua’s mother, it was clear that the unsub had intentions towards joshua but didn’t find him and instead killed his mother. 

joshua was told after they released him from custody, which didn’t help because after telling joshua what happened, he grew furious over what happened. 

the BAU team was able to come to a conclusion that owen porter was considered the unsub, with his background and discovering that he was close to joshua, and got upset when joshua left for college. one team headed to owen porter’s house while the other figured out joshua and some people from the town, had organized a hunt party for owen and headed to go follow them and stop them in case they reached owen before anything happened. 

lucas was part of the ‘find the hunt party’ group, they had to be quick about it because the hunt party already had a headstart. 

  
  


they finally reached an harbor, the hunt party stood above a boat where owen and the rest of the BAU team was, they believed they had upper power and that they should be the ones to finish off owen, before rossi from behind stopped them. the hunt party beside joshua lowered their guns, just as joshua was about to shoot owen, lucas takes his shot and hits joshua on the shoulder. 

with that the case concluded. 

  
  


once the team arrived back home, lucas was heading to his car, when he was stopped by reid

“hey, spencer” lucas said, 

“i just wanted to check up on how you are”

lucas nodded his head saying he was doing fine, that he just needed some rest, and he was sorry for what happened that night, spencer shook his head sharing that once again he didn’t need to say sorry before he wished lucas good night. 

“night, reid” 

  
  


lucas arrived back home and flopped onto his bed and took the nicest rest ever.


	22. "𝐣𝐣"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> before the case even starts, the team realize there's something going on behind close doors that involve jj possible leaving the team

lucas entered the building to find everyone around prentiss’ desk which confused lucas as he walked over to them and asked what was going on. 

“what’s going on?”

“jj, strauss and hotch have been in the office for a while, and we’re not sure why” garcia said, lucas looked over at hotch’s office, the blinds weren’t completely close, lucas stood there with the others before noticing reid taking some tums. 

“did you eat dairy?” 

“don’t judge me” reid said 

they all watched the three chat about who knows what they were talking about, garcia asked if prentiss knew something, and prentiss responded with the similar question. lucas asked if prentiss did know something considering the fact she repeated what garcia said. prentiss shared she didn’t know anything about why jj was in there with strauss and hotch. 

when the door opened, everyone quickly scattered or looked the other way from the window. everyone was told to meet in the round table room, lucas kept glancing over at jj, who seemed distracted, whatever the talk was about, really got her thinking. 

by the time they were on the plane, jj had approached, prentiss, morgan and lucas before sitting down and basically letting out what happened to in the office, about jj getting an offer from the pentagon, but she’s turned it down,  _ twice  _ and didn’t tell hotch nor strauss about it. 

“are you going to take it?” lucas asked, it seemed more like a whisper than his actual tone of his voice, jj gave him a small smile before assuring him that she can’t make any promises but she’s hoping she’ll end up staying with the team. lucas nodded but also tried not to think too much about himself, because there could be better benefits for jj. hotch called them over to review, but all lucas can think of right now if jj’s possible leaving.

the case was a young college girl who had gone missing after being seen with two boys at a party, the two boys were placed in custody and it was possible they were the unsub but they had at least 48 hours or so to keep them in custody before the police can release them because they didn’t have tons of evidence on them to have the boys be considered full on suspects. 

  
  


when landing, the team headed over to the station where jj introduced herself to the parents of kate and the others headed to sit up to see what they have so far on the two boys from the police and their files and to see how they were going to move forward with talking to the boys. 

“so what do we know about tweedle dee and tweedle dum?” lucas asked, sitting in front of the board, hotch seemed like he was going to say something about lucas’ word choice but decided to stay quiet about it. so far what they knew about sydney pearson and his friend, james barrett was that they were indeed the last people to see kate alive, and have not given much to the police to go off on, they were asked lots of questions but nothing, and it seemed sydney was the one who was more talkative than james. 

“which obviously shows sydney here is the more dominant while james just follow behind” lucas said as he flipped through the file himself, morgan shared that pearson seemed to get off on the conflict, there was a possibility that he knew where kate was, and having that knowledge with him created more power for him. the upper hand to be exact. 

lucas stayed back as the others headed to the interrogation room to see what methods they can use, and suddenly jj walked into the room and noticed lucas, giving him a small smile. 

“how are the parents?” 

“they’re determined to find their daughter, i don’t blame them” 

lucas nodded, hoping that they found kate alive and well, jj asked what they knew so far about the boys; lucas shared what they knew so far about the boys, and what evidence that the police have gotten which was very little. lucas then added that the team is currently trying to see how to move forward with talking to the boys. 

“how are you hanging?” 

“i should be asking you that,” lucas said, as he got up to approach jj, although jj meant as in how everything has been since new york, lucas also knew that she didn’t want him to be sad about the possible transfer. 

just as jj was about to respond, reid walked in getting a look from both jj and lucas. 

“am i interrupting something?” 

jj hesitated at first before lucas shared that they were just talking about his newly found haircut. 

“it was definitely better than your long hair and your supposed boyband hair” lucas said referring to reid’s hair in the past year, reid seemed bashful as he looked down before sharing that he just wanted to see something real quick about barrett. when reid was distracted, jj mouthed to lucas ‘ _ we’ll talk later’  _

as soon as jj left, lucas focused back on reid, and asked how everything was going with both boys, reid said that so far pearson has talked, with the method of having him trust the team by sending prentiss into the room and gaining his trust. 

“kate seems like such a good girl” 

reid gave him a confused look, before lucas added that kate got good grades, has great friends, attends a good school, everything that shows she was a heart of gold, which made no sense on why she left with those boys without a gut feeling of trouble. 

“but she did” 

“maybe, because of the need of familiarity, meaning she met them before or she wanted friends and thought these guys were nice,” lucas said looking at the picture of kate on the board. 

  
  


the team hadn’t approached either room with pearson or barrett because they believed if they entered the same strategy they weren’t able to get anything out of either of them. soon, garcia was able to dig up some information on both boys which could help them on what they should do once they were in the room. 

so far it seemed neither boy was going to crack, pearson was determined that he was not the unsub and barrett defended everything that was against pearson. if it kept up like this, then the case would most likely go cold, and the team would be unsure how to proceed with the case. 

finally both boys decided they wanted a polygraph, lucas suggested that he go in there and set them straight. 

“what are you gonna do? throw some fists” asked morgan

“if i gotta? yes” lucas responded confidently. jj patted his shoulder before saying: “don’t wear yourself out” 

the team kept discussing the boys, especially pearson who seemed to be the leader of the duo, rossi shared that he wanted to go in and talk to pearson. 

lucas asked jj how it was going with the family, and she shared what they told her so far about a childhood friend, and that they were acting out towards each other and they haven’t even left the station since the boys got put into custody. 

“i hope we find her alive, i always always hate that if we finished a case and a family doesn’t get to see their kid alive, i hate it” lucas said rubbing his arms, as the tears swelled up in his eyes, jj nodded her head, and shared that’s why they did their job. lucas nodded as he said he was going to get a drink of water. 

lucas decided to stand outside the interrogation room, with the others and asked the others if there’s any news on either boys; hotch shared prentiss, jj and reid were with barrett; morgan and rossi were here with pearson. 

“do you think rossi will get something out of him?” hotch nodded his head. lucas had the same belief, but these boys were annoying him with every second of them not confessing and they were running out of time. 

lucas was looking over the file once more when he heard commotion from behind him; he turned around to see jj and others rushing to somewhere; jj took notice of lucas’ confusion, the look she gave him caused lucas to react quickly. 

as they arrived at the ocean where kate was last seen, lucas and jj stood on land waiting for something, any news. the coast guard hadn’t given them anything yet, jj shared that kate was a swimmer which meant there had to be a chance she was alive regardless that she was there for three days.

suddenly through the earpiece, they got news that kate was alive, she had held on to the ocean cone (as lucas’ refers it to), as the coast guard brought her in, lucas gave jj a small smile who returned it back. they had found kate and she was able to go back home with her family. 

jj said she was going to go to the hospital to check up on the family, lucas asked if he can join her, jj looked hesitant but nodded as they made their way over. kate’s dad had said that when kate first talk to them, she had apologized for what happened, and kate’s dad felt like he didn’t protect kate when he should’ve 

“mr. joyce, i hope i don’t sound rude or speak out of line, but your daughter seems like one of the toughest people i’ve seen, holding on out there for three days, that’s strength and she learned that from you” lucas said, giving him a reassuring smile. mr. joyce was close to tears as he thanked lucas for his words. he told jj that he wanted kate to meet her, jj looked at lucas who smiled and told her to go for it. 

the team arrived back at the BAU, but it seemed like no one was going home till they got news on jj’s position here at the BAU. lucas worries what will happen considering strauss is now in charge of the possible change. 

add that to another list of why lucas hates strauss. 

jj stepped out of hotch’s office and notice everyone waiting outside for her, as if they knew what was going on. she walked down the stairs to get closer to them. the team waited for something from jj who finally broke the news that she was leaving. 

“wait, i thought hotch was supposed to-” 

“it’s above his pay grade” 

lucas can feel the tears filling his eyes, reid had mumbled something about how they can’t take jj away from them. there was nothing that the team can do, they wanted jj, i mean who wouldn’t she was the best of the best, but being the best of the best meant that they were to be strived for something greater. 

lucas wiped his tears away quickly before feeling jj’s hand on his shoulder and her whispering: “please don’t cry” which caused lucas to attack her with a tight hug, he may have been with the team for a year or two now, but within those years, he realized how close they are. 

lucas pulled away from jj, wiping away his tears again as she began to pass around hugs before finally going to penelope who possibly heard the news. before leaving for penelope, jj assured to lucas, that just because she wasn’t going to work here anymore didn’t mean that she couldn’t see lucas outside of work. 

walking out to his car, lucas felt his breath was shaky, he knew when his breath was shaky meant that he’s been crying for so long which he has, it was going to be hard not working with jj on the same team anymore. 

arriving finally at his apartment, lucas turned on the stove to heat up the water, before pouring himself a cup of tea. 

lucas sat down near the window looking out on the neighborhood, it being one am, many things come into lucas’ mind which ends up having him overthink. 


	23. 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐝𝐫. 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐮𝐬

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it is spencer's birthday, and him and lucas share some moments together on his special day.

it had been a couple of weeks since jj’s departure, lucas was still getting adjusted, and the team hadn't found anyone to replace jj’s position. it would have been weird without jj but, he among others, still got to see jj and her family from time to time. 

it was currently an wednesday evening, penelope wanted to go out and drink with the team, lucas was hesitate about saying yes, he told penelope he’ll give him any answer by the end of the day, but it is in fact the end of the day and lucas still wasn’t sure if he should go. penelope approached lucas at his desk and asked if he was joining them. lucas let out a weak smile before saying: “let’s go have those drinks” 

penelope cheered as she announced to the others lucas was joining them. 

lucas sat close to emily at the table as he drank his margarita, emily took notice of her anxiousness before asking if everything was alright with lucas. 

“i’m just nervous of being here, i’ve been doing well and seeing a therapist always, but it’s my first time being out at a bar, after what happened, i just feel like i’m gonna have a panic attack or something and i don’t wanna ruin anything” 

“i’m here, you won’t ruin anything if you’re suddenly feeling uneasy,” emily said reassuring him, lucas let out a small smile as he looked over to see morgan dancing with a group of girls; lucas rolled his eyes, as he went back to his drink. 

spencer was nowhere to be seen, he must’ve not been coming out drinking tonight, it was the day before his birthday so lucas wasn’t sure why spencer didn’t want to come out so he tapped emily on the shoulder to get her attention. 

“where’s spencer?”

“he didn’t come, i’m not sure why though” 

hours went by, and for some reason, morgan was still up on his feet, emily told penelope and lucas that she wouldn’t be surprised that his wallet magically disappeared. lucas let out a stifle laugh, before looking over at his phone to see the time. 

“got somewhere to be?” 

“kind of yeah, do you know any bakery that’s open 24 hours?” 

“maybe try the grocery store?” penelope suggested, lucas nodded his head softly before telling penelope and emily that he was going to head out, and that he wishes the best for morgan before laughing at his own comment and walking away. 

lucas took penelope’s advice and headed to the grocery store and bought a cake, before grabbing frosting to write some letters. when lucas got all his things and bought them, he headed to the car and used the frosting to write something. 

lucas drove over to spencer’s apartment and when finally arriving, to his apartment, lucas climbed up the flight of stairs before knocking on his door, it finally made lucas realize that he’s never been to spencer’s apartment (thank god for the mailbox downstairs so he knew which apartment) and little did he know it wouldn’t be his last. 

when spencer opened the door, he was shock to find lucas standing outside of his door, 

“l-lucas? what are you doing here?” 

“let me, quickly!” spencer did as lucas told him, the young agent placed the cake down and grabbed the candles from his pockets; he asked spencer if he had lighters or anything. spencer went to his drawers, and pulled on and handed it to lucas, who quickly lit up the candles. 

“what time is it?” 

“one minute till midnight” 

lucas nodded before telling spencer to sit down in front of the cake, the genius was confused on why before he noticed what the cake said: ‘ _ happy birthday dr. genius _ ’ 

lucas pointed out that it was midnight, before starting to sing happy birthday to reid, who felt touched by his kindness. spencer tried not to cry after lucas finished singing happy birthday, spencer thanked lucas for the cake. 

“well cut it, i didn’t buy it for you to look at it!” lucas said, spencer said that it was midnight, lucas shook his head before asking spencer where his knifes were, and the genius pointed at a draw, where lucas found a knife and cut a slice of cake. 

  
  


“you didn’t have to do this for me” spencer said as both him and lucas, now sitting at the couch eating the cake. lucas shared that he hated how spencer didn’t come out with them, spencer shared he was tired but he truly wanted to go with them. lucas understood before saying that it was funny how spencer’s birthday was close to halloween aka spencer’s favorite holiday. 

“it’s like it was meant for me” spencer said joking, he always got excited around halloween, lucas look over at the time before sharing that he possible should get going. spencer suggested that lucas should stay the night, it was late and he didn’t want lucas sleeping at the wheel. 

“are you sure? i don’t wanna be trouble?” 

“no, no, never, it’s the least i can do after this amazing cake” 

“i bought it from the store…” 

spencer insisted that lucas stays, the young agent nodded before spencer ran to his room to hand over some clothes for lucas. 

once lucas had changed and folded his clothes, he headed to the couch to place the pillow down where he was going to lay before he was stopped by spencer. lucas gave him a confused look before spencer said he was taking the bed while spencer take the couch. 

“this is your house, and  _ your _ birthday, you deserve a bed rest” 

spencer shared that it was alright that he didn’t mind. lucas felt awkward taking spencer’s bed before suggesting why don’t just share it. 

“i mean we’re both adults, we’ve shared a bed before” lucas said, spencer seemed hesitant before nodding. just like in alaska, lucas took one side and spencer took another; as they laid down, lucas asked spencer if he was reading or re-reading anything new. 

“nothing that you like” 

“boo, what happened to  _ little women _ ?” 

“i already read it twice” 

lucas rolled his eyes before he rolled over back to his side and shut his eyes. spencer stayed up a few moments, he looked over at lucas who was fast asleep at this point, he seemed calmed, which meant either the nightmares didn’t come tonight or something. it was nice that lucas was finally having an easier time to sleep, he hated seeing him in pain and hurt. spencer closed his book before laying down to sleep; he rolled over at lucas’ side for a moment, making sure he was alright before rolling over to his side and getting some sleep. 

  
  


when morning came, spencer could smell bacon and hear it sizzling, he got up and walked over to the kitchen to see lucas cooking breakfast, he asked how he found everything so easily. lucas confessed that he ramage through everything. 

“at some point i’ll get more familiar with this place the more and more i visit” lucas said as he placed the bacon on a plate alongside eggs, spencer thanked him for the food before telling lucas he didn’t have to do any of this. 

“sir, it is your 29th, birthday, i should do it” 

“well, thank you for last night or i guess early morning and the breakfast, but we should get to work soon” 

“i know, i know” lucas said. 

after breakfast, lucas shared that spencer shouldn’t have to work today, it was his birthday. spencer responded that it would mean that he got to spend his day with the rest of the team. lucas shook his head as they headed downstairs and approached lucas’ car. 

the pair arrived at work, as they were entering, lucas got a call, he looked down to see it was from pilar 

“you still haven’t talked to her?” 

“i just…”

“you should answer her” 

lucas looked at the number again, as it kept ringing before he picked the phone and said:  **_“hello?”_ **

spencer gave lucas a small smile before walking off to the building. 

**_“lucas?”_ **

**_“yes, you’ve been calling me for months…”_ **

**_“i needed to hear from you,”_ **

**_“can we talk later? i have work right now”_ **

**_“yeah, of course”_ **

lucas hung up on the call before heading over to the building, hearing his sister’s voice caused many memories from home to resurface and several questions entered his head. it had been years to not hear from his younger sister, and the fact she didn’t give up on calling him, says a lot. 

the day went by as usual, even though it was spencer’s birthday, lucas couldn’t help but overthink about his sister’s call, it was so weird. 

spencer noticed lucas’ worrisome face, before leaning over and asking how he was doing. 

“i’m just...nothing” 

spencer nodded but worried if his advice of picking up the phone wasn’t best, he felt bad for even giving lucas’ number to pilar. 

  
  


as the day came to an end, lucas wished spencer one more happy birthday before dropping him off at home, spencer wanted to ask if lucas wanted to stay but he seems to have more important things to do. it made spencer feel bad, he wondered if he’s the fault for lucas’ pain, sometimes of course lucas would tell him otherwise but he couldn’t help but feel partially responsible. 


	24. 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a new possible member joins the team, leaving lucas to feel a sort of enviousness towards her

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw// vomiting/throwing up

lucas arrived at the building to see everyone around in a circle, as he got closer he heard reid talk about how he was excused from physical activity from the academy. 

“lucky you” lucas said, everyone greeted him before he notice a new person next to rossi and hotch; the unit chief introduced her as ashley seaver, she would be joining them for the case, it wasn’t 100% certain that she would be here full time but she had experience with what they were dealing with. 

“how so?” lucas asked, looking back and forth at hotch and seaver. 

rossi said that seaver didn’t owe them an explanation, but she went ahead anyway. it appeared that ashley seaver was not her actual last name, it was her mother’s maiden name. 

“my name is actually ashley beauchamp, and my dad was the redmond ripper, agent hotch and rossi caught him when i was just about eighteen” 

“wait the redmond ripper? why does that sound so familiar” morgan asked. 

reid shared that the redmond ripper killed 25 women, before he realized that he was rambling and apologized to seaver, who just brushed it off saying she’s heard it all. lucas confessed that he’s never heard about the redmond ripper, hotch said it didn’t matter too much but with the case they were working with, seaver would be a great addition. 

the case was in new mexico, a serial killer was murdering women, which probably relates back to why seaver was a consultant for the case because she had lived through it, growing up. as they arrived, the police team they were assisting were at a model home waiting for their arrival. hotch introduced himself and the others to the officers, everything from the station and that they needed for the case was moved into the model home. 

“agent prentiss and i would like to take a look at the crime scene,” hotch shared, the sheriff said he'll make sure to take them over once they get everybody situated. lucas didn’t get a good vibe from ashley seaver, and not like “oh she’s evil” or just because her dad was a serial killer feeling, it was more of a “she seems annoying” feeling. lucas glanced over at her before looking away, prentiss seemed to notice before walking over to lucas and asking if everything was alright. 

“it’s nothing, do you ever feel like even before you know the person you’re already annoyed by them”

“or maybe you’re jealous,” prentiss said, poking lucas’ sides, who just rolled his eyes at prentiss before walking over to the team. the sheriff let them know the information they had so far on the case and the victim, as soon as that was shared, hotch and prentiss headed out to the crime scene. as prentiss and hotch left; prentiss whispered to lucas saying: “be on your best behavior” 

lucas nodded, it left, rossi, morgan, reid and lucas in the model home; seaver shared she put together a cursory profile so far, rossi seemed impressed with it, as lucas rolled his eyes, he looked down at his shoes before looking back up to listen to put seaver put together so far.

reid, kicked lucas’ shoes lightly, getting his attention, the pair shared a look with one another, morgan glanced over, and observed that the duo wasn’t even speaking but maybe they were but with their eyes. 

“you two got something to share with the rest of the class?” morgan asked jokingly, reid’s face got red, while lucas rolled his eyes and said no they were fine. reid shared that he was going to call garcia, see if she can get anything on what seaver gathered so far on her profile. 

**_“what’s in my voice?...what? i never said that!”_ **

lucas approached reid and asked if there was anything garcia found, he shook his said before adding that she was going to get back to them if she did find anything. lucas then asked reid what was him and penelope talking about towards the end of conversation.

“she thinks i have a crush on seaver” reid said, not looking at lucas but instead at the map in front of him, lucas can hear how quiet he was, meaning he was shy and bashful about the confession. lucas felt hurt before glancing over at seaver busy, this added a possible annoyance towards her. 

reid took notice of lucas’ sudden annoyance face before reaching out to his hand, lucas looked over at him before fixing his face. 

“sorry, i’m just having a bad day, i feel annoyed with every little thing, i feel like next time a person says something that annoys me i’m gonna end up snapping at them” 

reid asked lucas if he need to take a walk or something, lucas shook his head informing that he just needed to work the case and he’ll be fine. reid nodded before letting lucas go off back to rossi and the others. 

there was another victim, her husband (drew) was questioned, lucas and morgan went ahead only because lucas knew if he stayed another minute with seaver, he was going to rip his own head off. on the way over, morgan asked if something was up with lucas. 

“nothing, i’m just a bit teed off, like if you make a joke, i’m going to roundhouse kick you” 

“can you even reach over my head? with your short ass self” morgan said letting out a roar of laughter, lucas shoved him before walking ahead of morgan. 

drew shared about what happened before he found his wife all bloody, his daughter was in her room so she was unaware, he believed that someone possibly entere one of the many garage doors. lucas said if there was anything that drew can remember, to call them as soon as possible. when they entered the model home, hotch and prentiss were back they were talking to seaver, about something. suddenly lucas felt sick on his stomach, he stopped mid way of entering. 

“cortez?” 

everyone’s eyes were on him, before he managed to ask where the bathroom was, the detective shared that it wasn’t working plumbing. lucas rushed back outside and threw up in the bushes, his throat hurt and he wasn’t even sure why he felt sick, he was fine well till now. lucas felt a hand on his back and soon heard prentiss’ voice telling him to breath once he was done blowing chunks. 

“here, we got you water” 

lucas grabbed it from prentiss and chugged it down, before hotch asked what happened to lucas, who confessed he wasn’t sure considering that he didn’t eat or drink anything that was funky and he felt completely fine till he started throwing up. seaver suggested that maybe lucas should stay in the model home for the remainder of the case, suggesting that he probably couldn’t take the case right now. 

“ _ i’m _ fine, i can work on this case, last i check i’ve been here on this team longer than you have, just because your daddy was a serial killer and you got daddy issues doesn’t make you better than everyone” lucas snapped before shoving past seaver and going into the model home. 

hotch asked lucas if he was feeling better, he just nodded but prentiss suggested that lucas should sit out from the town meeting tonight. lucas nodded as he was handed another bottle of water, before once again chugging it down. 

as everyone left for the town hall meeting, lucas was held back due to his stomach sickness, seaver glanced over at him as if she was waiting for him to apologize but he was too pissed and sick to his stomach to encounter her. of course, even if he didn’t like her for whatever reason, it was unprofessional of him because there would be a chance she would be on the team. then again, lucas was never nice to strauss, still surprised how she never fired him on the spot after the recordings. 

morgan came back with a laptop from one of the victims, shared that he was gonna connect it so garcia can look in the laptop to see if the victim was keeping a journal because she wanted to be a novelist. lucas just nodded his head as he observed morgan, after he set everything up; morgan told lucas he should apologize to seaver for his comment earlier. 

“i will when she stops being annoying” 

“i don’t think you find her annoying, and even if you did, she’s gonna possible be part of this team which means you gotta at least act tolerable around her” 

lucas rolled his eyes before asking morgan what he meant by that lucas didn’t find seaver annoying. morgan shared that lucas was jealous of seaver, which fully got lucas’ attention, and asked morgan what he meant. 

“garcia told me about reid liking seaver, and i think  _ you  _ like reid, so now you’re jealous” 

lucas stammered over his words before shoving morgan lightly who just laughed, lucas then confessed he wasn’t jealous nor did he like reid like that. 

  
  


in the late evening, everyone was in the model home, before hotch pointed out where seaver was, lucas examined the room and shared he hadn't seen her since they all left for the community meeting in the church. the group had figured out who the unsub possible was, they believed it was drew jacobs, who murdered the first two victims and his wife who was the last victim. 

“you don’t think she went to the house, alone…” lucas asked, hotch told the team to hurry over to the jacobs’ house because seaver doesn’t have any weapons or a FBI vest on her. 

pulling up to the house, hotch ordered where they should go through, having lucas stay with him and heading through the front of the house. as they climbed up the stairs, they saw a little girl, who was most likely drew’s daughter, near her own bedroom, as lucas got closer he gently pushed the girl behind her so she didn’t get hurt or see what was about to happen. 

“drew jacobs, drop the knife!” lucas barked. 

drew kept his back towards lucas, before he asked drew to drop the knife, once more. seaver kept calm, looking at drew and then back at lucas. 

“please, think about your daughter,” seaver whispered, finally drew dropped the knife, lucas approached him with caution, pulling out the handcuffs and making the arrest. 

  
  


lucas sat on the jet, half asleep, half awake. seaver decided to take a seat across from him after talking with hotch and rossi. the young agent glanced over at seaver before looking back out the window. 

“some case, huh?” 

lucas hummed in response to her comment, once again awkward silence. before he thought about what morgan said. 

“i’m sorry for my comment earlier, it was out of line” lucas said, even though he didn’t want to apologize to her. seaver nodded, sharing that it was fine, and added that she didn't mean lucas couldn’t handle the case in general, she just believed he wasn’t stable at the moment for the case. 

seaver nodded, they were quiet again before lucas said: “if it makes you feel better i have parental issues too, well family, my family wasn’t the best” lucas confessed before, seaver mumbled a sorry before lucas shook his head saying that it’s alright. 

it still didn’t mean that lucas disliked seaver, but he had to tolerate her. 

when they landed and headed to the BAU, lucas headed straight to penelope after grabbing his stuff. 

“what’s up” penelope asked. lucas plumped down in the seat next to her, before saying: “do you ever not like someone on the team but you have to deal with them regardless?” 

“who do you not like? is it rossi? hotch?” 

“what? no” 

penelope examined lucas for a few seconds, before snapping her fingers saying that lucas liked spencer, his face turned red as penelope kept rambling about how lucas liked spencer and was jealous of seaver. 

“i’m leaving, penelope” 

“okay, good night, other lover boy” 

lucas rolled his eyes as he exit the building. maybe, lucas did like spencer, i mean he confessed to himself a few nights ago, but it was still hard to accept because of the fact that he was slowly mending from ben and his’ relationship, but more the fact that lucas was finally on his own for the first time without ben, and he wanted to experience these moments on his own. 

“lucas?” 

the young agent looked up to see spencer approaching him, as he got closer, spencer asked if he was alright. 

“just thinking, that’s all” lucas said, spencer nodded, sharing with lucas that if he need anything to call him, lucas nodded as he wished spencer good night before climbing into his own car and heading off home. 

before lucas driving off, the young agent thought back to when he kissed reid unexpectedly, after their first or second case together. 

_ “reid…”  _

_ spencer felt lucas tug his sleeve towards him, and felt lucas’ lips pressed against his own, he wasn’t sure what to do at the moment. just then, lucas pulled away, both were in shock in what happened or in lucas’ case, what he did  _

_ “lu-”  _

_ “i gotta go” _

lucas smiled at the thought, remembering spencer’s soft lips, and how badly he would want to kiss him again. 

“shit, i got it bad” 

  
  
  
  



	25. 𝐨𝐡, 𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> pilar visit lucas in quantico, it was the first time he would be seeing her since he left for college, it would rather nerve-wracking. 
> 
> reid confesses something to seaver

lucas has been talking to his sister, pilar lately, ever since spencer’s birthday, they’ve chatted. it’s hard to trust her after everything he was put through, especially since pilar did nothing but taunt him and made him suffer more. so when reid returned to vegas that one time, he gave lucas’ number and the rest is history. 

lucas, of course has been discussing this with his therapist, about the memories from the house and how talking with his sister, made him wonder why she was speaking to him and apologizing to him now; lucas even added that it would very very difficult for him to fully trust and accept pilar’s apology, his therapist believed that was common and that lucas did not have to accept anything right away.

it was hard talking to pilar, for some reason, part of him believed that it was her way of pulling him back into summerlin life, that was till their next conversation where pilar asked: “can i come visit you in quantico?” 

and for some reason, lucas blurted out yes. 

so now, pilar was coming to quantico, and lucas didn’t know what to do, and unsure who take advice from, 

morgan got along with his sisters

spencer, emily and penelope were only children

lucas didn’t want to ask jj knowing the story and didn’t want to ask seaver for nothing; also lucas was convinced that rossi also didn’t have siblings. the only person lucas wasn’t sure about was hotch but then again, he seemed like such a close-knit person, so lucas didn’t bother to ask. 

lucas was waiting in the arrival part of dulles airport, he hasn’t seen his sister in years, she was five years younger than him, so she was at least twenty-two, lucas didn’t know if she ever went to college or something. what if she stayed at home this whole time taking care of their parents, lucas never asked. 

it was still a work day, so lucas asked hotch if it was alright that he brought pilar to work, hotch said it was fine considering they did not have a case at the moment, and if she didn’t cause too much trouble. it was most likely after an hour, pilar would get bored within an hour and ask to go elsewhere till lucas finished up work. 

“lucas!” a voice shouted as they came down the escalator, lucas saw his younger sister, it had been years since he last saw her, when lucas left for college, she was at least twelve, yet for some reason, her words and action when they were all in the house left an impact on lucas. 

  
  


lucas was hesitant, not sure whether to hug her or what, but pilar wasn’t, she attacked her brother with a hug, it shocked lucas because he never got a hug in his life from pilar. 

“it’s so good yet weird to see you!” pilar confessed. lucas shared the same feeling, not entirely sure if it was good to see her but it was definitely weird; the young agent shared that he had to get to work soon, so they were going to get a quick breakfast before heading over to the BAU. 

“i still can’t believe you’re an agent! it’s crazy” 

“yeah, well i did study criminal justice in college and then headed to the FBI academy and well here i am” 

pilar admired quantico as they drove to the BAU building after getting a quick breakfast, their family hardly traveled, after their abuela passed away, they haven’t been anywhere since. so it was possible it was pilar’s first time out of the state to elsewhere. 

as they arrived at the building, lucas got a visitor pass for pilar before they took the elevator up to the floor, once they got out, lucas ran into penelope who quickly greeted him before noticing pilar beside him. penelope asked quickly who she was, lucas confessed that this was his younger sibling, pilar visiting for a bit. 

“oh- it’s just you hardly talk about home because-”

“ _ garcia _ !” lucas hissed which caused penelope to realize what lucas meant, before she nodded her head rapidly and told pilar that if she needed anything she would be in her bat cave, before walking away. 

“she’s rather weird” 

“yeah but she can found out everything about in a quick second so don’t underestimate her,” lucas replied before leading pilar to the bullpen, where she would get to meet the rest of the team. lucas rubbed his eyes, as he settled at his desk, pilar looked around the bullpen. lucas, shared that if pilar got bored after lucas gave her a small yet untraditional ‘tour’ of the BAU, she can leave and head to the bookstore that was not far from the building.

soon the others arrived, noticing lucas with someone at his desk. 

“who’s that?” whispered emily to the others near her, spencer shared that it was pilar, lucas’ younger sister by five years. 

“what you research on lucas or something?” 

“n-no when i went to vegas that time lucas got kidnapped, i headed to his childhood home, after asking garcia for the address and pilar happened to be arriving home, and she asked me about lucas once i introduced myself as an FBI” 

lucas notice them, giving them a small smile as they approach the siblings, lucas stood up and introduced the others to pilar. 

“everyone, my sister, pilar, pilar this is derek morgan, emily prentiss, dr. spencer reid, ashley seaver and jennifer jareau, or as everyone calls her jj” 

pilar waved her hand before saying she remembers spencer from him visiting their home that one time, lucas nodded saying he completely forgot. maybe he did forget or maybe he didn’t want to think about the time he was mean to spencer. 

“nice to meet you all” pilar said 

“lucas, i thought you didn’t talk to your family,” seaver said. 

lucas made a mental note that he would never talk to seaver ever again. pilar shared that it was true, lucas hasn’t spoken to their family in a long time but pilar reached out to lucas and wanted to mend some wounds. 

emily offered to take them out to dinner, if they didn’t have any plans tonight. 

“oh, what about dinner?” penelope said now entering the bullpen, lucas answered that emily offered dinner to pilar, and emily quickly added that the invitation was open to the others as well. derek shared he was done for dinner after work. 

“pilar? lucas?” emily asked, pilar looked over at lucas who finally gave in and nodded his head saying that he love to have dinner with the others. 

as they left, pilar asked who was ashley seaver. 

“what do you mean?”

“you seem to hate her like a lot” 

“i just don’t like her, for reasons” 

pilar nodded her head slowly before lucas went back talking about his job. 

as the end of the day came, everyone headed out to their car to head to dinner that emily was invited them to, pilar throughout the day, met rossi and hotch, and spent some time in the bat cave as penelope calls her little nook. 

“your team seem really cool, beside seaver” 

“yeah…” 

“this is so dumb, but have you moved on from ben, i know it’s been so long but i just wanna know” 

“i think so, but i also haven’t dated so don’t take my word for it” 

they arrived at the restaurant, lucas, liked having family dinners with the team, it was nice and it made him feel happy, well expect for seaver’s presence. lucas sat between pilar and emily at the table. they all chatted, about anything and everything; lucas glanced over at spencer and ashley noticing, seaver being a bit more friendly than usual. 

pilar took notice of this which slowly caused her to put the puzzles together that her brother likes spencer. 

after dinner, everyone started heading home, lucas and pilar bid everyone goodbye as they headed out to their car, ashley walked with spencer to his car, she has been flirting with him all night, everyone took notice of this but didn’t say anything. 

morgan however, just patted spencer’s back before saying good luck and walking off. 

  
  


as spencer and ashley began walking to their cars, spencer was oblivious at the attempted flirt, but when morgan patted his back, he kind of had an idea, he didn’t want to seem rude to ashley, he did find her attractive but he just didn’t like her in that way….

“i’m sorry, i’m not interested,” spencer blurted out, ashley was confused by his comment before spencer clarified what he meant by his comment. ashley was taken back by spencer’s comment and then suddenly felt embarrassed by what she was doing all night. 

“it’s not that i dislike you, i think you’re a good team member and such, but i’m not interested in you, i’m interested in someone else…” spencer confessed, ashley, was confused, she wasn’t 100% convinced with the fact spencer was interested in someone else till she recollected some things. 

“oh, spencer...are you?”

“um...well, if you mean the term bisexual, yes”

ashley wasn’t sure what to say, she was shocked, she didn’t hate spencer but she also wasn’t sure what to respond, spencer said he had to leave before rushing off to his car before she could even reply. 

lucas and pilar arrived home, lucas had the guest bedroom set up for her, and lead her over to room, before saying to make herself at home before he left for his own room. 

once pilar was set, she left her room and notice a cat on the counter 

“lucas...there’s a cat in your kitchen” 

“that’s robin, he’s really nice” 

pilar nodded, after a while she said: “i can tell you like spencer” 

“what makes you say that?” lucas asked confused by her comment, pilar shared what she viewed at the restaurant, and how spencer was around lucas. 

“i’m going to head to sleep” lucas said before wishing pilar good night. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	26. 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> lucas and pilar have a long conversation before she leaves back to summerlin

lucas woke up to smell chocolate chips, he rolled out of his bed, and grabbed robin before cradling him in his arms and walking over to the kitchen to find pilar making breakfast. 

“ _ buenos dias _ ”

“morning” lucas said, placing robin on the counter top before taking a handful of chocolate chips. pilar asked if he wanted to eat before heading off to work, lucas nodded slowly as he waltzed over to the fridge and poured himself a cup of milk. 

as soon as lucas finished eating, before sharing that he was going to go change for work, pilar nodded. there was still awkwardness between them, lucas wished he can just forget their past, but it’s hard; instead lucas just ignored the feeling and changed, as soon as he finished, lucas glanced over at his phone and saw a text from spencer 

**_spence_ **

_ hey, can we talk when you get to work tomorrow? _ _   
_ _ sent 3:45am _ __

lucas clicked his phone off before stuffing it in his pocket and rushed off to work before wishing robin to have a good day, and telling pilar, good bye. 

as soon as lucas arrived at work, he felt concerned about why spencer wanted to talk to him. beside that, he was thinking about his therapy appointment today, and wonder if his therapist will be judge him heavily for his dumb decision. then again a therapist doesn’t judge, so they say. 

lucas sat down at his desk, he still felt a little tired, for waking up so early and going to sleep so late.

spencer eventually did arrive at work, and saw lucas sitting at his desk, he was already immersed in his work; so spencer hoped that lucas didn’t see the text message that he sent lucas at three am. spencer tried to rush over to his desk, and just as he sat down; lucas noticed him and turned towards him: “hey, i saw your text first thing in the morning,what’s up?” 

“w-what text?” 

lucas gave him a weird look before he pulled out his phone and demonstrated it to spencer, who looked at it over and over again. spencer nodded his head and lied saying that he had a question about something but he figured it out himself. 

“of course, you did, you genius” 

“how’s things with your sister?” 

lucas let out a comment saying that he wasn’t sure how he was dealing with his sister, it was hard and was not sure if he’ll ever forgive her, it wasn’t easy after all it was a difficult part of lucas’ life. spencer reached out to his hand and squeezed it tightly, he wanted to let lucas know that he was there for him, no matter what choice he made. 

“thank you spencer…” 

  
  
  


after work, lucas headed to his therapist, he was prepared to let it all out. 

  
  


“...and then i blurted out yes, and now she’s in my apartment and everyone is being supportive of me choosing what i need to do but am i dumb? i know you said it’s gonna take a long ass time for me to be able to talk to pilar about this but like...ugh!” 

“you’re not dumb, there is a possiblity that a part of you wanted pilar to come and for you to be able to at some point sit down and talk about what happened, and then after that you can choose to forgive her and see where it leads you from there” 

lucas nodded, before his therapist asked if he wanted to continue this topic or if there was anything else he wanted to talk about. lucas nodded his head, sharing that he believes that he’s slowly forgetting ben, not memory wise but moving on from him. 

“do you think you’ll start dating, getting out there eventually? i know in the past, you’ve mentioned that you've dated a few times but that’s all they were a couple of dates” 

“so are you asking if i’m ready for a relationship or for dates” 

“both, are you ready to start going out again and if the time is right, are you ready to be in committed relationship” 

lucas felt like he was but he was also extremely nervous, the therapist nodded sharing that it was a possibility lucas was feeling nervous or not too sure about it considering that he has dated and was engaged to ben for a rather long time. 

“you will know when the time is right, i promise” 

  
  
  


after his appointment, lucas headed to the grocery store to grab some groceries for the week, before heading officially to the apartment, when he arrived, he unlocked the door and saw pilar sitting at the couch with robin. 

“hey, i’m gonna make spaghetti with garlic bread, so sit tight” 

once dinner was served, lucas and pilar sat down and ate; pilar can tell that something was up with lucas before saying: “okay let’s talk” 

“what?” 

“lucas, we can just keep skating around this topic, is it uncomfortable? yes, but i think we should talk about, i’m sure you wanna let out somethings, i never understood what you went through at home but i should’ve at least help you instead of sit and continue the impact” 

lucas also believed that it was best, pilar for once had a point. 

  
  
  
  


neither person went to sleep till four am, but lucas believed some progress was made, they yelled, they were mad, they were sad, they cried, lucas pulled out some drinks which got them drunk and laughed a bit. lucas still wasn’t sure how to advance with this, but at least he was able to talk it out with pilar. 

it reminded him for some reason, that scene in gilmore girls in season six where they talk about all their problems for the past years. 

the following morning, around midday, lucas and pilar headed to the airport, to drop pilar off. as they pulled up to the drop off area, lucas parked the car and got out to help pilar with her bags, once everything was set the pair looked at one another. 

“so, this is good bye, for now?” 

“i’m hoping” 

“it was good to see you lucas, i’ll tell esmeralda and our parents how you are” 

“i doubt they care but thank you for pretending to care” 

pilar let out a small laughter before hugging him, she seemed hesitant this time but this time lucas hugged back before letting his sister go off to the airplane, wishing her the best.

  
  
  


when lucas arrived home, he flopped on the couch; it felt like a long day, but beside his parents, he kept thinking back to the talk about dating and relationships with his therapist. lucas was nervous about the fact one day he’ll start dating again, ben was the only one who made him feel loved, and worried no one else will ever feel the same. 

soon, tiredness well over him, causing lucas to take a deep sleep on the couch till the next day. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	27. 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐧

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> after a recent case, the seemed a bit close to home to emily prentiss, she mysteriously goes into hiding and it's racing to the clock to find out what she is doing and how to save her

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw// major character death

lucas sat at his desk, he felt so tired about everything, he especially hated how after the case a couple days about, and prentiss being extremely sketchy about the case, and since she was somehow connected and knew about them and who they were. the team decided to see what prentiss was hiding and why. 

“i got four names from the bottom of prentiss’ list” morgan announced as he named down all names that were LR. 

“those all have L.R. initials” seaver pointed out

“yeah, no shit” lucas mumbled, earning himself a glare from seaver. hotch explained about how the cia uses cryptograms to assign non official cover agents, which backed up on the last for names that were on the list, they were all spies.

penelope however noticed something, pointing out how it was a spreadsheet temple, there was no way that it would allow formatting, indicating there was a missing name.

“so what other names are we missing?” lucas asked 

“another spy who’s initials are also L.R.” 

reid had mumbled something that caught everyone’s attention and he repeated once more louder for hotch and the rest of the team to hear, he had mentioned that prentiss mentioned lauren reynolds on a call seventeen days ago, but he claimed that prentiss told spencer that it was nothing. 

“well, of course she did, she doesn’t want us to find out what the hell is going on and honestly i’m getting frustrated” lucas said standing up and walking away from his seat. seaver asked why he was frustrated if he wasn’t the one in prentiss’ position, just before lucas could turn around and snap at seaver, garcia stood between the two of them just in case lucas snapped again. 

seaver glared once more at lucas before saying that if prentiss was the last name on the list she is possible on doyle’s list as well. 

“you really do call out the obvious, don't you?” 

as they all discussed the possibilities, hotch got their attention and demonstrated prentiss’ gun and badge, leaving both morgan and lucas confused (possibly everyone else as well). spencer was confused on why prentiss would run, not tell them anything, because they were family, they could’ve helped her

“don’t you get it? doyle is going after families, and prentiss doesn’t have relatives or married, she has us and he was ready to wipe us out, so she believed the best choice was to run to protect us” rossi pointed out. 

lucas sunk back in his seat, he always looked up to prentiss as a big sister, seeing her have to go through this alone because she didn’t want any of them to get hurt, made lucas feel terrible and worried for emily. 

no one was sure how to find prentiss, she was so close knit to herself at most times, and being a trained spy, made it a less likely possibility to find her. hotch however said they view this as any other case, doyle is the unsub and prentiss as the victim, they profile the behavior and such. 

“since terroisim isn’t something in our department, i called someone who can be of extra help and can help us shed light on prentiss’ past” 

“who?” lucas asked 

“her” hotch said demonstrating the door, they all turned around to see jj entering the room. lucas felt his luck change and ran over to her. 

“jj!” lucas shouted, tackling her with a hug, the former BAU agent smiled before telling them that they needed to get to work. they entered the round room, lucas asked jj a question on their way up there. 

“please tell me you’re coming back” 

“sorry, cortez, i’m still at the pentagon” 

“no, jj please come back, i can’t stand seaver” 

jj patted his shoulder before they entered the round room, she shared so far the information she could get about prentiss’ past with a case that happened a few years back, involving her team investigating terrorists. 

“how does doyle fit into any of this?” asked spencer 

“he was their last case” jj shared before going over the victims that have been killed. the only way doyle knew about the team is because they infiltrated, lucas asked who was undercover for doyle, which jj responded that it was prentiss. 

it was no surprise, why else would she be on the run right now. lucas started feeling more worried. morgan pointed out how prentiss’ style made her seem extremely comfortable around the situation she was in and doyle. hotch proceeded to ask how close did prentiss get, jj shared that prentiss was his type which allowed her to get on the inside. 

  
  


lucas hated what was going on, he didn’t want to hate prentiss and claim that he didn’t know who she was anymore because that wasn’t fair to her. jj can tell how worried lucas was and approached him. 

“i promise you we are going to get her back” jj said, lucas gave her a small smile before squeezing her hand. 

rossi and morgan returned back from her house and headed straight to hotch’s office, he wanted to barge in and ask what they found out but for now, he would just have to wait.

  
  


they got notification from TSA about one of the JTF team members, who was trying to flee the country. the team boarded the jet and head over to see what information they could get. on their way, garcia pulled out surveillance on what boston PD sent them, it involved prentiss and doyle. 

prentiss was shot but apparently she isn’t dead, which meant she had her vest with her. morgan pointed out if anyone else was bothered by the fact that prentiss injured three people. 

“no offense, morgan but those people are bad guys, since when do we advocate for them?” lucas asked. before morgan can snap back, hotch cut in saying that prentiss probably had to play at doyle’s level to get something out from him. 

hotch wasn’t sure how long prentiss had considering since prentiss was her stressor, he saved her for last and that it could possibly take the longest with her. 

  
  


they landed boston, and headed to the station, after a while; rossi brought in a guy named jack fahey, he was calling a possible irish mob, so they were placed in custody till then. 

lucas and morgan were the most tense around the case, both on opposite ends of the case, morgan was frustrated and angry at prentiss for keeping this to herself. lucas on the other hand was worried, he was frustrated at first because he wasn’t sure what was going on but now he does, and he just hoped prentiss comes back. 

  
  


fahey demanded $200,000 before he speaks about any information on prentiss. lucas asked what they were going to do, seaver said she tried and talk to him, she had a specialty in narcissist. 

“i dated a few” seaver said

“doesn’t make you well known about them” lucas commented

“at least i dated more than once” seaver snapped back. 

lucas was taken back by her comment, rossi pushed lucas back towards the other side of the room before he said anything to seaver. lucas demanded that he got back and tell seaver off, rossi called reid over and told him to keep an eye on lucas before leaving. 

“i don’t need a babysitter…” lucas mumbled leaning against the wall

“why don’t you like seaver?” 

lucas glared at reid, who then asked how lucas was doing with the entire case so far. the young agent shook his head, he felt hurt and scared for prentiss, he felt his tears whelming up, reid wrapped his arms around lucas assuring him that everything will be okay. 

  
  


when rossi and seaver came back, she was covered in blood, no one was sure why, lucas kept watching to see if there was anything that would give away what happened. hotch was interviewing clyde easter about prentiss, he was possibly the closest thing they got for trying to find prentiss. 

  
  


they headed back to the board room, and easter shared his profile on prentiss’ time with doyle when she was undercover, which the BAU team tried to line it up with their profile of him being a family annihilator, if doyle didn’t have kid, he had no family, or anyone why was he targeting family and prentiss.

“did prentiss have a kid by any chance?” 

“why would she keep it from me?” 

  
  


garcia had found something and called them over, she found information that doyle had a son named declan doyle; who had arrived in boston eight years ago with guardian louise jones. easter shared that louise was the housekeeper to doyle. garcia continued to dig more and more information that she can find on doyle’s son before she found pictures of declan and louise tied up in a warehouse and were shot and killed.

lucas felt the anxiety rise, there was a possibility that this new information could lead them to prentiss, but he didn't want to look at the photos till reid called both him and morgan, to see what reid caught. 

“it’s just black clothing and a hand,” morgan said, he wasn’t sure what was significant about it. reid pointed out the fingernails. 

“oh my god...that’s emily!” garcia exclaimed, this meant that emily had killed louise and declan, a child. a sick feeling hit lucas’ stomach, he walked away from the computer and covered his ears saying: “no, no, no!” 

“hey, kid, kid!” morgan walked over to him and told lucas he had to get his act together, that once they get emily back, they’ll get answers to everything and it will all be over soon enough. 

“but i can’t have you freaking out on us, okay?” 

lucas nodded his head slowly. 

the swat team and agents headed out to the warehouse where they believed prentiss and doyle was. lucas just wanted to get prentiss away from the monster, that is named doyle. 

morgan and lucas went ahead as hotch cut the power of the warehouse, they were followed by the swat team as they grew closer, lucas grew anxious but he remembered what morgan said and took in a huge deep breath. 

they had finally found prentiss, lucas felt his heart dropped seeing the wood implied into her; lucas forgot how to move or speak, morgan was already by her side calling for a medic. lucas didn’t know what to say but heard what morgan said to prentiss, he was now begging her to stay and let go. 

“ **we need a medic!** ” lucas shouted at the top of his lungs, he can’t lose emily, not to doyle. 

  
  


the medic team arrived and placed emily on the stretcher before rushing her in the ambulance and taking her to the hospital. once she was on her way, everyone else headed to the hospital, hoping for the best. no one was sitting still or calm, they were all thinking about emily and hoping she makes it out. 

“spencer, please stop pacing, it's making me more worried,” lucas said, spencer finally sat down next to penelope. they were all now quiet and waiting for any news that the doctors could give them. that’s when jj finally walked in and everyone looked at her for some news, anything. 

“she never made it off the table” jj said, tears were in her eyes, lucas felt his world falling apart, the tears came over flowing. spencer got up and wanted to rush out of the hospital but jj stopped him. Lucas blamed himself, believing if maybe at the time instead of just standing there numb, he could’ve helped morgan and emily. 

lucas got up to get a drink but fell to his knees, his cries turned into sobs; he hid his face in his hands, why didn’t he do anything? 

suddenly he felt a hand grab him and left him up, when lucas wiped his tears, he saw morgan to his right, who reassured him that it wasn’t his fault. however, lucas couldn’t help but cry even more. 

  
  
  


the funeral finally came around, lucas hated this, he almost didn’t go but this was emily how could he just not go. the entire team was there, all feeling the loss of a family member. as the casket rose down, lucas wanted to break down again, but it wouldn’t do him any good, or anyone any good. 

after it was done, the team was offered a few weeks off, lucas wasn’t sure what to do with those weeks, he didn’t want to be alone with the damn ghost in his apartment. 

lucas made his way to his car, he saw spencer standing by it. 

“what’s up, reid” 

“i know you’re not okay, and i wanna be there for you” 

“spencer, you should take care of yourself as well, we lost a friend, family” 

spencer bowed his head, lucas knew spencer was also having a hard time coping, lucas gave spencer a hug before getting into his car and heading off. 

it was going to be a long couple of weeks and lucas was not sure how to handle it. 

however, even when the time comes, how was lucas and the rest of the team going to move forward with this death, it was emily prentiss, their family, the first person who welcomed lucas in with open arms. all he wanted to do was have her back. 

  
  



	28. 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐟

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the team is back fully with emily prentiss alive and well, but not everyone is automatically happy about her 'death'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 𝘁𝘄// 𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗱𝗿𝘂𝗴 𝗮𝗱𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

it was all so fast, the BAU team was going to court due to prentiss’ loss but when lucas thought this was it for them, suddenly emily was alive again, explaining everything on why she faked her death and as much as lucas wanted to ask loads of question, he decided to wait till after the court. 

which they won, thanks to emily, who went in there and told them about the team, which allowed the court to see BAU as fit, but they were told that they would be on watch if they try anything ever again. the other good thing that happened was that seaver was no longer part of the team.

the team were on their first case with emily back, but it seems not everyone was as welcoming as lucas and others.

as lucas headed into the building, he was stopped by jj and prentiss, and jj asked him: “is reid alright?” 

“i think so why?” 

“we were suppose to meet for brunch on sunday but he never showed” 

“hold up, you guys do brunch and don’t invite?” 

jj rolled her eyes before shoving lucas lightly before they headed up the stairs to see their next case, as they began walking in, and heard rossi and garcia talking about some pasta. lucas sat down next to reid, confused by everything that was going on. 

morgan than said: “you know rossi, maybe you should give cooking lessons to penelope” 

garcia loved the idea so much, and said it was like if the iron chef met the BAU, and that rossi could teach it at his home. 

“it’s not a home, it’s a mansion” 

“is that how rich you are, you have to correct someone on how you live?” lucas asked

rossi nodded his head, garcia then quickly said: “lucas! you can teach us how to bake!” 

lucas shook his head, before reid pinched his arm lightly and said that lucas should do it, for the sake of garcia at least. 

“i’ll think about it” 

hotch came in and introduced the case, it involved so far three woman being murdered and one of five senses were taken from them, such as one victim had their eyes stapled, it was a horrifying scene, they would discuss more on the plane. 

as they sat on the plane, reid took a seat beside lucas, which for some reason came to a surprise to him, before lucas can say anything hotch began discussing the case. rossi pointed out the victimology was similar to all girls, blonde hair and blue eyes.

hotch then assigned where everyone will be heading once they land. 

“cortez, reid and jj go to the abduction sights” 

cortez looked at jj and then at reid before mumbling something under his breath. 

once landed, they all got into an SUV, lucas decided to be the one to drive and have jj and reid talk among themselves about who would sit where. jj ended up sitting in the passenger seat and reid in the back. the car ride was extremely awkward to lucas, no one talked, it was extremely quiet. 

“so, we just gonna sit in awkward silence…?” 

no one answered which answered lucas his question, he wasn’t sure why reid would be angry at jj, till he remembered what happened. prentiss had just come back from the dead, lied about her death, and the only people who knew was jj and hotch. not everyone would be openly happy about prentiss’ revival. 

“so i’m going to put music because this car ride cannot be anymore tense than it is already” 

lucas turned on the radio, and what came blasting out was lucas’ favorite song  _ time after time  _ cyndi lauper. lucas stated to the others that it was his favorite song and that it brought some memories back about ben, considering that lucas wanted this played at their wedding when the time would have come.

“now that i think about it, i just deleted his contact right after i came back from new york three years ago” 

“wait, you haven’t kept in touch with him?” jj asked

lucas shook his head saying that he hasn’t spoken directly to ben since his time in new york. reid asked if he attempted to reach out to ben. 

“no...i just-wait a minute! how come we all decided to talk it’s about me” 

they finally arrived at the scene, lucas parked the car and they all got out to observe what could’ve happened and how’d it happen because it was out in the public which meant that the victim either knew the unsub or was forced to go willingly with them in case of getting harmed. 

“maybe he tried other tactics, like, ‘wow, you're really pretty. you should be a model.” reid explained thinking about could be the possibilities of the victim going with the unsub. jj finally figured out that it was indeed about prentiss’ ‘death’. as soon as they were finished, reid headed off first, leaving jj and lucas to walk a bit behind them. 

“what do i do now?” 

“i don’t know, you’re gonna have to give reid some time, he was hurt about prentiss passing away” 

“i’m surprised you’re not acting the same” 

“i knew it was the safest for her, and i’m glad she’s alive, i had to understand that this choice wasn’t something she made but it was something she had to do to keep us and herself safe” 

  
  


another victim appeared by dumpsters, and at this point jj was done with reid and started making sub comments towards reid, and lucas was already feeling the tension rise up and it wasn’t going to end well if they finally decide to talk about it. 

back at the station, lucas was looking over the board, beside the victims having similar appearances, he wondered what was the stressor for the unsub. it was possible that it was rejection from someone who had blue eyes and blonde hair, hence the victims, just as lucas was about to say something to reid and jj, he heard jj already discussing something with reid.

“you know what i think it is? you're mad that hotch and i controlled our micro-expressions at the hospital and you weren't able to detect our deception” jj snapped, lucas feared this happening, from his three years here, he knew jj and reid were close, seeing them fight this way was not something he wanted to see. 

“you think this is about my profiling skills? jennifer, listen, the only reason you were able to manage my perceptions is because i trusted you. i came to your house for 10 weeks in a row crying over losing a friend, and not once did you have the decency to tell me the truth” spencer replied back. 

jj shared that she couldn’t tell him about emily, lucas decided to stand between them telling both of them that it’s best if they calm down before someone else says something they don’t mean. 

“what if i started using dilaudid again?” spencer asked, lucas was confused by this comment, jj on the other hand seemed to know what he meant. spencer began walking away before jj called out his name. 

“spence, i’m sorry” 

“it’s too late for that” 

lucas watched as prentiss called out to him, before turning to jj asking what spencer meant by his comment of using dilaudid again. jj looked down and shared it wasn’t her place to tell lucas, but she apologized that she couldn’t tell him. 

“it’s okay, i should…”

“please, if he doesn’t want to talk to prentiss and me right now, at least you” 

lucas nodded before rushing off to find reid. 

when he did, lucas jogged over and said: “that was some tense fight huh”

reid didn’t answer right away, lucas walked a bit closer before asking reid if he wanted to talk, a light scoff came from reid. 

“look, i understand your mad at jj and emily for keeping something from you, from all of us, but you have to understand, emily did it for us, to protect us and herself” 

reid stayed quiet again, lucas reached out for his hand, but instead tugged his sleeve lightly, reid focused back onto lucas, he saw in his eyes that he was sorry for reid, and he wasn’t sure what he meant by his comment earlier which probably caused worry. 

“i was kidnapped a few years ago by an unsub on one of our cases, and while he had me tied up, he inserted some dilaudid into me, and it got addicted to it and i’m not proud of that moment in my life, but i’ve been taking care of myself since then and i went to NA, but i guess with the lost of prentiss…” 

lucas felt the tears before feeling at fault for not at least checking up on reid during those weeks. 

“reid...i’m sorry, i should’ve checked up on you, i’m-”

“it’s not your fault, i promise”

lucas couldn’t help but hug reid, who wasn’t a huge fan of hugs but when it came to lucas, reid never told him that, he just let him hug him. 

  
  


the team was growing closer to the unsub, as they started off believing that it was a homeless man who was good with chemicals and had a car that helped him transport from the abduction sites to where he was taking the women. 

morgan and prentiss found a list of potential unsub who passed by the shelter, as soon as they came back, prentiss approached lucas. 

“how’s he doing?” 

“he’s mad” 

prentiss asked how lucas felt with all of this, knowing that it probably wasn’t a good time in his life for lucas. the young agent smiled fondly, sharing that he wasn’t mad at prentiss but more relieved that she was alive and here with them. prentiss smiled softly before lucas shared that hotch told rossi that they should have a family cooking lesson at rossi’s mansion, which caused prentiss to ask if cortez will bake something for them or even just have a baking lesson. 

“alright, chill out, let's take it step by step,” lucas said before laughing. 

  
  


the team found out the unsub was named cyrus, he was kidnapping women and killing them due to the fact that his brother’s wife was someone that cyrus had seven minutes with back in high school, and he ended up taking advantage of her in the closet. the case was closed up, they were all heading off home, planning to go to rossi’s for the dinner lesson, reid wasn’t sure if he was going. 

after lucas got home, showered and changed out of his clothes, he rushed over to spencer’s apartment. 

when he arrived, he knocked on spencer’s door rapidly. 

spencer opened the door surprised by lucas’ appearance at the door, he asked why was lucas here. 

“to go to rossi’s dinner tonight” 

“i’m not going” 

“spencer, please, i know you’re mad at jj and emily, it’s possible that it’ll take a while for you to forgive them, but understand also from emily’s perspective that she did this for her safety and us...i’m not saying to forgive them right away but you get what i mean?” 

reid nodded slowly before saying he’s going to change before heading inside and telling lucas to come in the apartment. 

when they arrived to rossi’s place, lucas gasped loudly that it caused spencer to jump, at the sound, once lucas parked they both got out and the young agent was surprised by the hugeness. 

“this is huge, oh my god” lucas said before they headed inside the mansion and head to the kitchen where everyone was already cooking. 

“you guys couldn’t wait without us?” 

“you’re late”

“okay, remember that when i make ginger snaps and you don’t get one” 

“aren’t ginger snaps more of a festive treat?” asked hotch

lucas shared he was thinking of ginger beard, it had the same ingredients but ginger snaps were more spicy and ginger beard wasn’t. lucas glanced over at spencer who greeted jj with a smile and was enjoying himself so far. lucas was glad that they were all here together. 

  
  
  



	29. 𝐜𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐞 𝐠𝐮𝐲

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> while running late to work, lucas ends up meeting an extremely cute guy in line 
> 
> spencer doesn't share the excitement

lucas was running late to work, and rushed to the cafe shop by his apartment, as usual; since he was late, there was a line causing lucas to groan heavily. 

“yeah, long lines suck” lucas turned around to face a chest and slowly looked up to see a man with longish brown hair, lucas felt his face turn red before nodding and smiling at his comment. as the line kept moving up, lucas couldn’t help but feel the guy’s presence behind him; he was extremely attractive. 

“lucas, same as usual?” 

“please and thank you for your service, the FBI salutes you for making my coffee for me every morning so i don’t lash out on my co-workers”

“don’t you have a coffee maker at work?”

“yeah but the coffee here is heaven sent”

once lucas paid and stepped to the side to wait for his drink, he heard the mystery guy’s voice order for his drink. lucas really wanted his number, but he wasn’t even sure if he was interested in guys. lucas felt relieved once his coffee was done, he grabbed it and headed to work, on his way to his car, lucas felt his phone ring. 

**_“hello?”_ **

**_“lucas! it’s garrett, i’m heading to virginia, to visit a friend of mine from the publishing job, i was wondering if you wanted to meet up, i haven’t see you in person since ....”_ **

**_“i love to, and i miss you too, when are you coming?”_ **

**_“hopefully later today or tomorrow, i will call you once i’m officially here, i’m going to hang up because i still got packing, later”_ **

lucas hung up on got into his car before heading off to the BAU, the memory of the guy from the cafe still merged into his brain. 

once lucas arrived, he felt a bit better about things, penelope noticed this and walked towards lucas with a question on her face. 

“you’re happy, what happened?” asked garcia 

“i saw a cute guy at the cafe shop but i ran so late, i didn’t stop to ask for his number!” 

penelope gasped, while lucas nodded his head saying that it wasn’t his proudest moment, before continue on adding that he was really tall and attractive. 

“made me wanna kiss him” lucas said smiling eagerly, penelope said that she can try to see was in the cafe shop earlier today around the same time as lucas and do a facial recognition. lucas thought about it before saying: “okay...don’t do it but i will let you know if i need it” 

penelope gave him a thumbs up before scurrying off to her batcave. 

as lucas stepped in, he smiled proudly at everyone who looked towards him, morgan asked what was the smile for before lucas shared that he saw a cute guy at the coffee shop today but he was running late for him to actually go ahead and ask for his number.

“damn, cortez, you really should’ve made your shot, you were already late”

“well not everyone is a flirt like you” lucas replied back to morgan. lucas noticed that spencer didn’t say anything, making him question why, but he shouldn’t be so worried about it. 

around lunch, garcia approached lucas who was having lunch at his desk (an egg salad sandwich), he looked up and asked garcia what was up, she seemed hesitant at first before she finally confessed: “so i know you didn’t want me to look for the guy right away…” 

“penelope!” 

“i’m sorry but you haven’t been on a date in a while let alone a relationship and i wanted you to be happy, not that you need to be in a relationship to be happy”

lucas let out a small smile before letting penelope know that he deeply appreciates the deep search, which led to penelope asking: “so do you want to know or…?” 

“no number just give it to me” 

“okay, so hunky guy is named liam johnson, he moved to virginia in 2006, after getting a position at a firm, he’s a lawyer by the way and he is in fact into guys, because he’s very open about it on his social media; anyways, he has a dog, and he works not too far from where you live, at least twenty minutes”

lucas looked at penelope, he felt ashamed that he learned about all of this from penelope and not from the guy himself, which penelope took notice of right away. 

“do not feel bad, it’s my fault, i promise” penelope said, reassuring him. lucas thanked her before he received a call from his phone and picked it up which had garcia heading out to her little nook as lucas took the call. 

**_“garrett, hey”_ **

**_“i landed in quantico, i’m going out to dinner tonight, can i count you in?”_ **

**_“yes please”_ **

**_“great! i’ll pick you up at your house”_ **

lucas nodded his head, smiling before telling garrett that he’ll see him later. 

once the work day ended, lucas greeted spencer on his way down, and said: “i feel like i haven’t seen you all day” 

spencer shared he was busy, once the door opened to the elevator, the pair went in and lucas pressed floor one to head down, it was quiet, lucas then asked spencer if he would like to join him for dinner, spencer gave him a confused look. 

“garrett, from new york, he’s here in virginia visiting a friend and having dinner and he invited me and i could call and ask if you can come, i’m sure he won’t mind” 

“i don’t want to intrude” 

lucas shook his head, before making the call to garrett and asking if spencer could join them, which garrett said that he would love to see the boy wonder again and officially meet him on better terms. 

spencer shared that he would meet them at the restaurant, lucas nodded before telling spencer that he’ll see him later. 

  
  


garrett called lucas and told him that he was here; lucas bid robin goodbye before heading downstairs and seeing garrett leaning against a car that had someone in the front seat. lucas hugged garrett tightly saying that he missed him a lot. 

“alright, hurry into the car, now” garrett said as he ushered lucas into the back seat, once garrett was in the passenger seat he introduced the driver. 

“lucas, meet amanda, amanda, this is my good friend lucas from college, i should’ve introduced you guys when lucas moved to quantico a few years ago” 

“yeah, would’ve been helpful” 

amanda let out a laugh as she pulled out and started driving to the restaurant, lucas shared that he moved to virginia because of the FBI. 

“you work in the FBI? holy shit” amanda said, garrett asked if spencer would meet them at the restaurant, lucas confirmed that he would. amanda asked who was spencer, which lucas shared that it was his co-worker and was a really sweet guy but was a bit awkward. 

“he’s also a genius, so do not be alarmed by his rambling facts” 

amanda nodded her head. 

  
  


after amanda paid for value parking, lucas noticed spencer walking over to them, which caused lucas to greet him. garrett and amanda, approached lucas as spencer got closer. 

“doctor, it’s so good to meet you again, under better terms”

“hi, i’m amanda, garrett’s friend, it’s so nice to meet you” amanda said, extending her hand. spencer scrunched up his nose before saying that he doesn't like handshakes because of germs. 

lucas snapped his fingers before telling amanda that he forgot to mention that. they all headed into the restaurant and were led to a table in the center. 

  
  


“okay, okay, i’m gotta ask, have you met anyone yet?” 

“um... i wouldn’t say meet per say” 

lucas explained what happened with the coffee shop guy (who’s name is liam) and how penelope was able to find some information about him. amanda and garrett gasped before amanda asked if penelope would be able to find out about her in seconds. 

“yes, don’t think she won't,” lucas confessed. 

“so, do you plan on seeing him again?” 

“i just happened to run into him at my coffee shop, that's it” lucas confessed. 

garrett and amanda kept chatting excitedly about the possibility of lucas having a new boyfriend or something, however lucas can see from the corner of his eye that spencer wasn’t talkative, he was just looking at his hands which caused lucas to lightly kick him under the table. 

“what are your thoughts, doctor?” 

spencer smiled saying that he would be happy for lucas if anything develops, lucas gave spencer a smile before focusing back onto garrett and amanda. 

  
  


when the night came to an end, lucas shared that he was going to ride with spencer, garrett hugged lucas before saying goodbye; amanda exchanged numbers with lucas for them to stay connected. as the duo headed off, lucas pulled spencer to the side before they headed to his car. 

“what’s up with you?” 

“what do you mean?” 

lucas explained to spencer on how he’s been acting lately, with being extremely quiet and looking away from lucas when he talks about coffee shop boy. spencer bowed his head in shame, before saying that he was happy for lucas but he was worried. 

“after what happened in new york, i don’t want you to get hurt again,” spencer said. lucas pulled him into a hug, letting spencer know that he had nothing to worry about and if anything, he’ll have penelope do a deep dive search. spencer wanted to kiss lucas as he pulled away, but instead the pair walked to the car in comfort. 

lucas thanked spencer for the ride before saying he’ll see him tomorrow. 

as lucas walked up the steps, he was happy that he was home and that he could see the coffee guy again and possible this time, ask for his number.

  
  



	30. 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐩 𝐭𝐨 𝐝.𝐜. 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐬𝐩𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> lucas' day off starts with him asking coffee guy to go with him to d.c.

saturday came around, lucas wanted nothing more but to relax, which he got, by heading to his coffee shop before hitting the road to washington d.c., as he entered, there was a long line again. lucas mumbled under his breath about hating these long lines, the door behind him opened but he didn’t pay any attention. 

“you’re back”

lucas turned around to see liam, the cute coffee guy; lucas felt his stomach drop and his face rose with heat. 

“um...yup, that’s me” lucas said before looking forward once again, after lucas ordered and waited to get his coffee, soon he felt a presences beside him and glanced quickly to look to see it was liam, his face turn red, all he hoped for was that he didn’t make a fool of himself. 

after he got his coffee, lucas headed out. 

“hey, uh...wait up” 

lucas turned around to see liam making his way towards him; lucas froze in place, he wasn’t sure what to say or what to do, he scrunched up his nose in worry. 

“sorry, i don’t mean to just stop you out of nowhere, um...liam, names liam” 

“lucas cortez” 

“nice to meet you” 

liam stayed quiet, he seemed like he was trying to find words to say something before lucas asked if there was anything he wanted to tell lucas. liam nodded before confessing that he’s seen lucas at the coffee shop a few times during the weekday. 

“i’m not stalking you i promise, i think you would know i heard you’re from the FBI” 

lucas remembered him thanking the barista saying that they were helping the FBI giving lucas coffee.

“right, that’s me” 

“i know this seems forward, but would you wanna get something other than coffee sometime?” 

lucas felt his heart beat fast before nodding, the last time he felt this way around a guy was when he was starting to date ben back in high school. lucas smiled before nodding his head and looking around what to write his number on. 

“i have my number on this napkin, if you want to just call me when you can” 

“wow, you’re prepared” 

liam let out a smile before lucas said he would give liam a call, before they both departed their ways. 

lucas stopped mid way to his car before saying: “liam” 

the tall man turned around to face lucas, it was now the agent’s turn to seem hesitate before asking liam if he wanted to join lucas on his spontaneous trip to washington d.c. quickly adding if he wasn’t busy or anything. 

liam gave lucas a small smile before looking opposite of where he was standing. lucas observed him waiting for a response, anything from liam. 

“yeah, okay” 

“really?” 

“yes, and before you ask i am not a murderer or anything” 

lucas let out a laugh, who knew that his first date with a cute guy would be on a spur of the moment trip. liam got into lucas’ car, they was some tension because lucas decided to just ask him to join him on a trip out of nowhere instead of asking for next time like liam offered, he wasn’t very smart, he treated this first date like this trip, spur of the moment. 

“i’m sorry, this is probably awkward for a first date”

“hey, spur of the moment, you only live once,” liam joked, lucas nodded his head. 

  
  


when lucas arrived to d.c., he parked his car before the pair got out of the car, and observed their surroundings. 

“what was your plan for here?” 

“well, my plan for just me, was go to some museums and eat lunch here maybe dessert, hell maybe dinner if i ended up staying here longer, but if you wanna do something else, that’s better” 

“no, that’s sounds delightful, let’s start walking” 

lucas joked saying that he hoped that liam brought his walking shoes for the many museums they were going to go to today.

  
  


lucas had fun with liam, and even more so, getting to know him walking through the museums, and now heading over to lunch, lucas never felt so happy to be on a date again, he hoped liam was having as much fun as he was and enjoyed his company or else liam was just faking it till he makes it. 

the day was slowly coming to an end, lucas and liam got back in the car and drove back into quantico, their conversations continued as they drove closer, before lucas suddenly remembered: “oh my god, i don’t know your address, i just assumed that you lived near the coffee shop, which you probably don’t”

liam let out a laugh before letting lucas know that he didn’t in fact live near the coffee shop before indicating that his car was actually in a garage near where he works and to drop him off there.

“i know this is our first day and everything, but you know baby steps,” liam confessed as lucas slowly pulled up to the garage and came to a stop to let liam go out and head to his car. 

“i had fun on this spur of a moment date”

“goes great with my theme today” lucas said laughing, liam said goodbye once more before heading to his garage. 

  
  


lucas smiled happily in his car before driving off to his apartment, it was about seven, when lucas arrived back to the apartment, he turned off his car and made his way upstairs and unlocked the door before entering and greeting robin who was sleeping on the couch. 

an hour later, he heard a knock from his door, lucas felt his stomach drop, he wasn’t sure who it was, he grabbed his gun and slowly approached the peep hole, he looked into it to see spencer, having lucas relax and place his gun away. 

when lucas opened the door, he greeted spencer and let him into the apartment. 

“i forgot you were coming over, sorry” 

“it’s fine i should’ve called ahead to say i was here” 

lucas thanked spencer for coming over and bringing food. 

“so, how was your trip to d.c.” 

“it was okay, um...but something changed among the way” lucas said smiling bashfully, spencer asked what changed due to his trip. lucas shared that he asked the guy from the coffee shop to join him to d.c.; spencer gave him a concern look before lucas assured that nothing out of the ordinary happened. 

“i know i’m taking things slowly, well i guess not too slow because i decided to take him with me to d.c.” 

lucas said smiling, spencer was more glad that lucas was happy and getting out there but he wish he was the guy that lucas was dating, instead spencer keeps quiet and hates himself for not asking lucas out sooner. 

“so, i am picking the movie for tonight or?” 

spencer confirmed that lucas was the one picking out the movie. 

  
  
  


when monday came around finally, lucas headed back to work, ready to announce the others to the others he asked liam out on the date, and there was hope for a second date but he wasn’t going to get his hopes up too soon. 

“ladies and gentlemen, i have some news; i asked out the coffee shop guy aka liam, and we went on a date” 

the team cheered, as lucas got a high five from morgan. 

spencer remained at his desk, he observed lucas, seeing how happy he was; it wouldn’t be fair to have lucas continue be worry if this guy was bad or not, spencer also knew that if something did start to seem off, lucas would notice, he wouldn’t let his guard down. 

penelope came running saying she heard cheers and didn’t want to be left out, she notice lucas smiling eagerly. 

“you asked him out!” 

“we went out!” 

penelope congratulated lucas before hugging him tightly.

spencer felt the pain in his heart, hit again. 


	31. 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐞 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐮𝐬

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a case involving a famous serial killer resurfaces, but things seem to be off about BAU's resident boy wonder

lucas and liam had been dating for a couple of months now, it was nice to call someone his boyfriend, and it was definitely weird at the same time considering he dated ben for so long; lucas was enjoying his breakfast with liam when he got a call from the BAU that there was another case coming up. 

“gotta go out and save the world?” 

“yes….i’m sorry” 

liam shook his head, sharing that it was no problem, before giving lucas a kiss on the lips before the agent ran off to the BAU. 

  
  


spencer and emily were in san francisco for a seminar, while the others were called to a case where the pair would meet up with them soon. 

“ladies and gentlemen, hold onto your hats we are dealing with…” garcia didn’t finish her comment and turned on the board, to reveal their next case involved the famous serial killer - the zodiac killer. 

lucas gasped and the others were also in shock, this was the famous killer after all, who was never caught, never seen by anyone and only left his signature. hotch asked if the police department was sure this was the work of the zodiac killer. garcia went down with all the evidence the police found on the latest crime scene, including a piece of shirt. rossi shared that at the last crime of the zodiac killer, there was a taxi driver with the striped shirt that was the same similar piece that was left at the most recent crime scene. 

“so we’re working with  _ the  _ zodiac killer or a copycat?” asked lucas looking over the files. 

“you would think but there are similarities in the m.o.” garcia exclaimed. lucas furrowed his eyebrows the zodiac killer was active forty years ago, which meant he had to be at least 60 years old, was it possible that he made a comeback? 

  
  


“garcia, have prentiss and reid will meet us in san francisco, everyone else wheels up in 20” hotch ordered. 

on the plane, the team debriefed on the case, lucas asked if there were ever any past copy cats, morgan replied there were at least two copycats, one in heriberto seda and another in japan. 

“okay, but what makes this case different, i mean they had copycats in the past but for some reason this one seems to be close to the actual killer, that could might as well be the zodiac killer” lucas said. rossi shared that after his last letter, he possibly ended up in prison or a mental hospital. lucas shook his head, disagreeing, adding how if no one knew how he looked like or who he was, how he would end up in either place. 

  
  


landing in san francisco, the team headed to the crime scene, where they were introduced with agent lin, along with reid and prentiss. lucas quickly asked about the seminar, reid didn’t seem to happy when he replied that it was enlightening. 

  
  


so far, san francisco police had gathered all the data about the zodiac killer, beside that; hotch asked what made it seem like this was  _ the  _ zodiac killer, agent lin responded that there were uncanny similarities to the m.o. just like what garcia mentioned. 

reid was observing the scene when he made the comment that it wasn’t in fact the actual zodiac killer. 

“come again?” lucas asked 

“it’s not the actual zodiac killer, it’s a copycat” 

“well damn he’s seems like the best if people assumed he was the zodiac” 

the team arrived at the san francisco FBI building and noticed a news reporter and someone talking to them, lucas furrowed his eyebrows, confused as reid headed over and talked to the person who was talking to the reporters.

it turned out to be someone who just wanted their fifteen minutes of fame, as soon as reid debunked whatever the man was claiming, they headed inside of the building to continue on with the investigation. 

lucas pulled reid assigned while the rest headed inside. 

“what’s up” lucas asked 

“nothing….”

“spence, something’s eating you up, what’s going on?” 

reid stayed quiet just as he was about to answer, hotch called both of them over, lucas nodded as he gave spencer one last look before heading off. 

the DNA from the shirt returned and it was revealed to not be from the taxi driver that the zodiac killer killed in the 1960s. lucas lightly hit reid on the chest and said that he was right as always. 

“so then if it’s not the zodiac killer, then who’s it gotta be?” lucas wondered. 

there were comments under  _ the chronicles  _ article about the zodiac, there was a load of comments that reid was now reading through, seeing if there was anything that would stand out. just in a few moments, reid was able to find something. 

according to the cipher comment he found, someone was going to be at the golden state park, and it’s a possibility it could be the unsub who’s posing as the zodiac killer. reid told hotch and the other officers. 

around the evening, they all stood their position, finally someone started arriving, just as he reached the bench near president garfield statue, hotch revealed himself and the others, the man who came was not the unsub, but a messenger sent by the unsub. 

lucas grabbed the envelope and saw that it was addressed to reid, he handed it over to the boy wonder. 

“what does it say?” 

“you’re not as smart as you think you are,” spencer said, lucas shook his head saying that the unsub didn’t know what they were talking about. 

another victim resurfaced, her name was nicole puli, it was more of an overkill, which meant that the unsub was getting personal and or frustrated. 

reid ended up going to a nearby cafe to continue looking through comments, lucas wanted to go after him but instead stayed back, instead prentiss went ahead and followed him. 

  
  


when prentiss did come back, she approached lucas who was in the boardroom, looking over some of the new found evidence. 

“cortez!” hissed prentiss, lucas turned around and face prentiss asking what was up. 

“did you know we missed reid’s birthday?” 

“who’s we? i didn’t miss it, in fact i went to his house and celebrated” 

prentiss grabbed a folder and smacked lucas lightly who let out an ‘ow!’ and asked why did prentiss hit him; she scolded saying that lucas should’ve told them something about them missing reid’s birthday. lucas replied that reid did not want lucas to tell the others, adding that lucas believed that the others did know. 

“why? what did reid say?” lucas asked, prentiss let out a soft sigh before responding that reid was feeling a bit useless, sharing that he had high expectations for himself as a child genius; that he believed that he should’ve done more before his 30s, comparing himself to nikola tesla. 

lucas frowned, he remembered the letter that the unsub sent to reid, he let out a small sigh. hopefully after the case, lucas could talk to reid a bit, he hated seeing reid like this. 

  
  


piling up the evidence, and based on the comments reid was able to understand, the boy genius shared what the comment F-4 meant and how it could possibly lead them to where the unsub possible is. 

“you sure?” 

“yes, i’m definitely certain” 

“i’ll take your word for it” 

reid called garcia beforehand, just to see where the location could possibly be, garcia was able to find two people, possible unsubs, one named caleb rossmore city parks employee and harvey morell and engineer at a chinese computer firm. 

garcia shared that harvey was about to get married, that could possibly be the stressor for caleb, feeling jealous and losing a friend; garcia was able to find where caleb worked previously, at powerlinks gym. 

hotch ordered jj and lucas to go ahead and the pair did as they were told. 

arriving at the location, lucas remained behind jj, as they entered, soon a noise came from the back, jj nudged her head towards that direction, lucas followed behind, once jj got there first and tried to talk caleb down, lucas stood by her. 

jj was able to talk him out of harming anyone else, caleb dropped the gun and lucas made the arrest. 

  
  


the team arrived back at the BAU building, everyone was packing up, just as lucas was about to leave, penelope approached him and whispered in his ear to go to the round room table. when lucas entered he saw that there was a cake and happy birthday banner. 

“you guys, my birthday is in may, and i’m not turning 30,” lucas joked knowing it was all for reid. after a few minutes, reid was the only one in the bullpen, so they sent out emily to get him to come into the room. 

as she did, penelope and jj struggled trying to get the candles to work. 

they heard the footsteps slowly approaching them, they all stood around the table and just as spencer stepped in they all screamed: “surprised!” 

spencer let out the biggest smile, the cake was shoved in his face which indicated for him to blow out the candles, everyone wished spencer a belated birthday, giving him pats and hugs. 

when lucas reached spencer, the pair stared at one another before lucas wished him a happy birthday once more. 

“thank you, all of you” 

“just remember, the cake i baked for you on the day of your  _ actual _ birthday was better,” lucas said gloating in front of everyone, earning a playful shove from morgan. spencer nodded his head, sharing that lucas’ double chocolate cake was delicious. 

  
  


when everyone was walking out of the building, spencer apologized to lucas if he had any plans tonight with liam, he’s sorry that he ruined it. 

“no, you did not, plus you’re my friend, spence, oh hey and spencer...you’re the smartest guy i know just because you haven’t invented anything out there doesn’t mean you won’t any time soon, don’t forget” 

spencer smiled as they started to part ways; spencer to his car, and lucas off to liam’s car. 

the boy genius watched as lucas got into liam’s car before the pair shared a kiss and liam began driving away. 

“so, how was the case?” 

“very tiring, very intense”

“so was it the zodiac?” 

lucas shook his head no, that it was not in fact the zodiac killer, just an extremely well copycat. liam nodded his head as he gently reached for lucas’ hand driving off to lucas’ apartment. 


	32. 𝐝𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐲 𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐞𝐬

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> beside a possible karaoke night, the team takes a case in arizona

“lucas! invite liam!” penelope said at lunch, lucas looked up from his sandwich with a concerned look on his face before finally reacting to penelope’s question and shook his head rapidly, nearly choking on his sandwich. 

“why not? we all want to meet him, you’ve been dating him for more than a few months!” jj reclaimed, before adding that she’ll even bring will. lucas rolled his eyes before adding that it’s not that he didn't want them to meet liam, he didn’t want liam to see lucas make a fool of himself singing at karaoke. 

penelope shook her head and said that parts of the relationship are the ones where you even show the worst of yourself. 

“i haven’t slept over at his house! or vice versa” lucas hissed before cleaning up his mess, all three women looked at lucas confused before either one of them could rebuttal, hotch announced they had a case. 

emily announced that lucas was saved by the bell but did not think the conversation was over yet. 

they all gathered in the round room, as hotch announced their next case, so far what the case showed that the unsub was serial killer, going to homes in the middle of the night and murdering just the father (or man of the house), however no noise is made to wake up the other members of the family. 

“what do we know so far of the victims?” lucas asked looking through the file, hotch responded that there was no sign of force entry, and that most of the bedrooms were always on the second floor, however, from the time of the unsub walking up the stairs, opening the door, pulling out the knife and killing the fathers, there was no noise and the wife would only find her husband dead the next day. 

“so what, he covers their mouths before stabbing them? wouldn’t the husband at least try to fight back or struggle with flaring their arm and plus while stabbing wouldn’t it be hard to have one hand stabbing the other covering the victim’s mouth?” prentiss asked. morgan responded that it was possible that the unsub could be using a rag and drugging the victims with the cloth before proceeding with the killing. 

“we’ll continue on the plane, but right now, arizona needs us, wheels up in twenty” hotch announced. 

everyone, once ready boarded, they discussed what they have so far from the arizona police, according to the reports, none of the victims had any connections to one another, as soon as lucas was able to step away, he gave liam a call 

**_“hey, i never called but i just wanted to let you know that i got a case, but when i get back depending on the day, the team is going out to karaoke and they want you to come along”_ **

**_“i love too!”_ **

**_“really?”_ **

liam exclaimed that he would love to meet the team, especially over karaoke when they get back, lucas nodded saying that he’ll let them know once they come back. 

arriving in arizona, hotch shared that him and jj will head over to the station, rossi and reid would head to the morgue; lucas, prentiss and morgan would head to the latest crime scene. the team went their different ways once they finally landed. 

“i wanna drive,” lucas said, catching up to prentiss and morgan. 

“nope, i’m driving,” morgan responded. 

the trio arrived at the crime station, they showed their badges to the police, before proceeding into the house, in the living was the wife- mrs.hayden, and her kids were in the kitchen, probably still processing that their dad was gone. lucas told prentiss and morgan, he was going to go talk to the kids to see if there was anything they knew. 

lucas approached them with caution, before introducing himself to them.

“hi, i’m agent cortez” lucas said in a calming voice, holding up his badge; the oldest seemed fourteen he didn’t look up when lucas announced who he was, the other sibling had to be no older than at least ten years old. 

the youngest child looked up and stared at lucas, waiting for something for him to say. lucas let out a soft sigh before telling both of them that he was going to ask a few questions, they didn’t need to answer them if they weren’t ready. 

“how does this help bring our dad back!” snapped the oldest, lucas was not surprised by the lashing out, the kid just lost his dad, it was natural for him to be anger or even be sad, people react differently to loss of loved ones. 

“i know, it’s hard for you to answer these questions, but even the simplest things can help, anything, so we can find out who hurt your father,” lucas replied. the oldest shook his head before getting out of his chair and leaving out of the room. 

lucas glanced back at the youngest; lucas asked if he was willing to answer some questions, which the youngest child nodded. 

“do you remember anything from last night?” lucas asked

“not really...everyone went to sleep regularly” 

“no noises? nothing that seemed out of place” 

the young child fumbled with his hands, he seemed to have known something, having lucas notice and asked if there was anything that the kid knew it would help because it could lead them to the unsub, and that he would not get in trouble for it. 

“my parents usually close all the windows and lock them, but last night it was hot, and i left the window open and i forgot to close it before i went to sleep” the young kid said glancing over at the one window that was near the kitchen. 

  
  


once they questioned the family, they headed up to the room, there were still blood stains on the bed, where the husband was murdered. blood was also splattered onto the wall and possible onto mrs. hayden. 

“were the other kills just as violent as this one?” lucas asked, looking around the room. prentiss replied that they were as intense as the others. lucas looked over at door and the bed, trying to see how quiet it possible was for the unsub to not get caught.

“what if he was barefoot” 

“the unsub? why would he be barefoot” morgan asked. lucas replied that most men tend to wear huge boots that make noises, there was no way for the unsub to not be caught by any members of the family. 

they headed to the station, to meet up with the others to share with they got so far. 

“so, there is a possible for this unsub to enter the haydens’ household with no force entry because the youngest didn’t lock the windows that night, morgan added that lucas believes the unsub was possible barefoot

“did you say barefoot?” rossi asked, earning a confused look from the others as well, lucas revealed that if the unsub is a man, it’s most likely that he wore loud shoes that would make noises, compared to what shoes women would wear. 

“if it’s a man, he would have mostly taken off his shoes, and it barely makes a noise, no one in the family was able to hear any noises that night” 

“what if it’s a woman?” asked jj, lucas snapped his finger responding that it was possible, before reid shared the possibility of the unsub being a woman was slim.

  
  


at some point the team called it a night, heading to the hotels where they reserved for the evenings, it was two per room. 

“that means one person will have a room on their own” lucas said as they headed out to the vehicles, morgan said it should be him. lucas rebuttal but before any argument starts, rossi said he’ll get the room alone, and that was it. 

“why cause your rich? if you’re so rich get rooms for everyone on their own” Lucas snapped, claiming that if they all support him, they can get rossi to have everyone get their own room. it didn’t work out, lucas ended up sharing a room with reid. 

“if i can’t get my own room, i would like to be not close to the window please and thanks,” lucas said as reid and him headed up to their room, reid let out a low chuckle. 

  
  


once everything was settled, lucas called liam to wish him good night, reid was placing his things to a side, he tried to not listen, but he couldn’t help it. 

**_“i’ll call you tomorrow morning, alright, night,”_ **

when lucas hung up, reid noticed how quiet it was, and he looked over to see lucas fast asleep on the bed, the phone still in his hand, it was possible that lucas passed out, from being tired. reid grabbed the blanket at the end of the bed, before unfolding it and placing it over lucas to let him rest easy. 

  
  


the following morning, the team returned back to the station after receiving news that another kill happened. once again, the family did not hear anything when the unsub entered the house, or the room. 

“does this guy just float or something?” the sheriff they were working with asked. 

before lucas could retrot, he saw the recent victim’s family enter the police station; he seemed hesitant to approach before hotch told lucas to go ahead and talk to the kid, see if there was anything they can remember or hear if possible. 

lucas walked over to the room, and asked the mom, if it was alright that he asked her child some questions about last night, anything she can even remember. 

“yes, of course” 

lucas sat across from her kid, and introduced himself as agent cortez, before asking if the kid can close her eyes and think long and heard about last night, but after lucas asked her to do such thing, the kid responded back quickly: “i know what happened, because i woke up to use the bathroom, and i saw someone go into my parents’ and she had flats on, she looked like a ballerina but there was a hoodie over her” 

lucas was taken back by what the kid was saying before asking: “i’m sorry, did you say,  _ her _ ?” 

lucas rushed back to the board room and told them that the kid remembered something from last night that he saw. 

“she said that she saw someone enter her parent’s room and she was wearing these flats that reminded her of being a ballerina, but didn’t see her face because there was a hoodie over her” lucas shared. 

“okay, i’m going on a hunch here, but what if it’s possible that the unsub has daddy issues, horrible dad when they were younger, saw something traumatic or dealt through something traumatic in their life that caused them to have it” 

“it’s a possibility considering that she is going after fathers” lucas responded. hotch shared that they were ready to deliver the profile, once settled, jj could possibly try and talk to the media to give them something but not completely everything. 

  
  


“hey, we got something from the hotline” announced the sheriff to the team, when they picked up the phone it was the unsub themselves, sharing that they weren’t going to stop killing, and no one was going to stop them no matter what, they would soon kill tonight. 

“how do we know who’s the next victim? so far we don’t know how the unsub is choosing her victims” morgan asked, it was unsure, lucas called garcia to see if she could find anything on the past four victims. 

“anything such as….” 

“their dirty laundry” lucas confirmed. 

“done and done, i will get back to you asap” 

  
  


garcia got back to them, sharing that most of the victims were having marital issues, seeing counselors but according to the credit history of all four victims, they were still seeing prostitutes. 

“so is there a possibility that the unsub had a father who was similar, maybe even did worse?” asked jj. the sheriff stuck his head in and shared there was someone here who wants to speak to them., hotch told the sheriff to let them in. 

a young man with blonde hair named zach introduced himself to the team before sharing who he believes the unsub is. morgan and jj went ahead to ask him some questions. 

when they came back, they had news: “her name is amelia robbins; zach, her brother said that their dad was the worse, didn’t do much around the house, the marriage between their mother and father was crumpling and their mom would do everything they could to fix.” morgan shared. 

hotch called back garcia and asked her to do a background check on amelia robbins. 

“okay, i got her, amelia robbins, born here in arizona, brother, zach, who’s story checks out, there was several visits to the hospital for almost everyone in the family, the mom and amelia were the ones who got it the worse, however, her dad, passed away of an old heart” 

“is there an address?” 

“yes, sending you the addresses, also along with that i found some possible victims, sending those addresses as well” 

hotch ordered reid and lucas to head to one of the three houses, morgan, and jj to another, prentiss and rossi would head to amelia’s house and hotch would head over to the third house that was on the list. 

  
  


lucas and reid arrived onto the house with a few police members closely behind , the front door was wide open, lucas headed in the house first, they creeped up the stairs slowly and quietly, as they reached the top step, a little boy was outside of his room, looking over at them. 

“hey…” reid said quietly approaching the small boy to make sure he didn’t get hurt, lucas went ahead with the police,as they got closer to the room, lucas saw a figure standing over the next victim, if he waited any longer the unsub would strike. 

“amelia robbins, drop your weapon!” lucas shouted, it woken up both of the residents, they screamed in fear of the sight to see amelia with the knife. 

“don’t move if you wanna live!” amelia snapped at the husband.

“i said drop your weapon!” 

“you don’t understand!” amelia rebuttal 

lucas shook his head saying he did understand, his dad wasn’t the best either, using his own family trauma might help lucas talk down amelia, who seemed like she was paying attention the minute lucas mentioned about his dad. 

“no one helped me...he lied to my mom! he hurt my brother and my mom! he was the worst father ever” 

“i promise you i know how you feel, but killing another family is not going to help ease the pain, no one in your family deserved the pain they suffered and neither do you, so please let down the knife” 

amelia was still pointing it out to the victim before she dropped it along with dropping herself to the ground crying. lucas felt sorry for amelia as the police made the arrest. 

  
  


the team headed back home, they didn’t end up going to karaoke night till the next day. 

  
  


“are you sure you wanna go?” 

“yes! stop asking me! i don’t understand what you’re so nervous about” liam said as they entered the karaoke bar. lucas and liam headed their way to the team who were at a table. Penelope was the first to notice them and waved frantically at them. 

“liam, meet my team, team, meet liam” lucas shared, everyone went around and introduced themselves to liam when spencer introduced who he was; liam shared that lucas constantly talks about spencer. 

lucas tried not to show how embarrassed he was as he announced they should get started on singing. hoping this night goes well 


	33. 𝐚 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐫

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the team heads to atlanta for a case, lucas ends up saying i love you to liam, but something more causes lucas to feel shaken up

liam pressed his lips against lucas, before the young agent had to leave for work, the young latino grabbed his coat, as he was leaving he told liam to lock the door on his way out. 

“okay, i love you, take care, i will call you if there’s a case” lucas stopped midway when he realized what he just said, liam was looking at him as well, neither one unsure what to say to the other. liam seemed like he was starting to open his mouth to say something but lucas quickly blurted out bye and ran downstairs. 

as soon as he entered the BAU, he looked towards the conference room to see just jj, prentiss and garcia, he zoomed his way up there, he noticed the three seemed to be having a conversation among themselves but garcia noticed the worry in lucas’ eyes. 

“what’s wrong?” 

“i um...told liam i love him” 

all three gasped loudly before lucas scrambled to his seat claiming that it all happened so fast, and that before liam could even respond he left his apartment. jj asked if lucas was going to call liam eventually, especially since he always does once they’re on the plane. 

“i don’t know…” 

“don’t know what?” morgan asked as the others piled into the room, lucas quickly responded that it wasn’t anything, turning his attention to the screen as hotch announced the next case, it takes place in atlanta, it was a serial, two prostitutes were stabbed and staged in the last two weeks. in the past years, atlanta’s crime rate went up, there was a possibility that the unsub thinks he’s cleaning up the streets. 

“according to m.e. report there was no evidence of sexual activity before the deaths” hotch shared with the team before saying wheels up. 

  
  


“make the call, now, or he’s gonna think something’s up” prentiss hissed at lucas, the young agent grumbled as he got up and made his way to a more secluded area of the plane, once out of earshot, morgan turned back to jj and prentiss asking what was going on with lucas. 

“he told liam, that he loves him and now he’s freaking out,” jj said in a hushed whisper. 

  
  


the phone ringed three times, before liam let out a hello. 

**_“hey, just letting you know that we’re on a case, and i’ll call you once things wrap up”_ **

**_“yeah....um, lucas, about this morning”_ **

**_“i gotta go, bye!”_ **

**_“lu-”_ **

lucas shuffled back to his seat to listen about the case and what they got so far. garcia chimed in to let them know that another body was found by a jogger, name was rebecca moore and a missing person report was filed by a friend named allyson parker. 

“prentiss, you, jj and lucas go to find out if allyson had any insights on why rebecca would be targeted, morgan and reid go to the disposal sight, david and i will set up at the field office” 

  
  


everyone did as hotch told them, as they drove to find allyson parker, jj asked if lucas and liam talked about anything. lucas replied back that they were on a case right now. prentiss and jj shared a glance with one another. 

once the three found allyson, they asked her questions such as how did she know when and why to file a missing person report for rebecca; allyson responded that it had been at least two days since she last left rebecca. jj shared that there was $250 found on rebecca, allyson seemed surprised by the amount of money having lucas asked if there was customers who paid that much. 

“customers would probably pay that amount nowadays,” allyson responded. 

prentiss decided that they would try to jog allyson’s memories and remembered the night when she last saw rebecca. at first it seemed that allyson didn’t remember anything that stood out but then recalled a black van that has been on this street several times, and the one night rebecca goes missing, the van was in the parking zone for a long time. 

lucas thanked allyson for what she can remember, the three headed back to the station to inform the team. 

“allyson remembered seeing a van parked on the street the night that rebecca disappeared,” prentiss announced as soon as they walked into the field office. jj also shared that it was parked in a no loading zone for hours. 

agent lynn brooks asked if they could check for any recent tickets, lucas responded that garcia was already on it but it wasn’t a residential area so it was possible that it was a vendor. rossi points out how each victim is left with $250 which in total was $750 in investment, as they continued talking, lucas felt his phone ringing, he pulled it out to check who’s calling and saw it was liam, having lucas completely ignore the call all together. 

  
  


the evening reached, lucas was practically out once it hit one am, prentiss pointed out that she was surprised by lucas sleeping at such a late time when usually he’s awake. hotch believed that perhaps it was time to head to hotel, reid walked over to gently wake up the young agent. 

“lucas…” 

“what do you want?” 

“we’re heading to the hotel now” 

lucas was somewhat awake as he gathered his stuff and followed the others to the suv. as soon as they arrived to the hotel, lucas was quiet as ever, possible from tiresome, everyone had their own room this time, once hotch gave them their keys lucas mumbled a comment: “morgan doesn’t need a key, he’ll just knock it down” before heading to the elevator.

everyone shared a look with one another before following. 

as they reached their floor, they stepped off the elevator, lucas stumbled off to his room not wanting to wake up till tomorrow. reid hurried behind lucas to help him get the door, morgan laughed and made a comment to the team that reid couldn’t hear. 

  
  


“it’s so bright turn off the light” 

“i will once your rest and because you could end up hitting the stand or bed” reid said grabbing lucas’ bags as the young agent took off his shoes, and lied down, reid set lucas’ things to the side before leaving the room, just as he opened the door he saw prentiss. 

“reid, where’s lucas?” 

“he’s fast asleep, why what’s wrong?” 

prentiss had a look of despair before pulling reid outside of the room. as he did, reid shut the door behind him and waited for prentiss to say something. 

“on the news, they just announced that their releasing clemson” 

reid remembered clemson (then again he remembers everything), he looked back at lucas’ door before asking prentiss why, and that the police department where clemson works was able to get him out. reid shared that he’ll let lucas know as soon as he goes to sleep. 

  
  


the following morning, they were informed that another body was found, hotch shared he’ll stay back to inform lucas about what happened with clemson; reid wanted to be the one to do it but instead headed off with the others. 

as lucas rushed downstairs he was stopped by hotch. 

“what’s wrong? shouldn’t we be out there doing our job?” lucas asked 

“lucas, there’s something i wanna talk to you about” 

the young agent nodded his head slowly following hotch to a secluded area, it seemed that it was important if hotch had a hard time trying to tell him. 

  
  


“w-why would they let him out….he’s a terrible person and he just...i” lucas wasn’t sure how to respond, he felt the anxiety take over him, hotch informed lucas he could sit out this case if he needed to. 

lucas shook his head and told hotch that he’ll just have to deal with it after the case. hotch responded that it wasn't necessary but lucas shared that there were people who needed saving. 

  
  


after going to the crime scene, morgan was able to give hotch a profile to deliver to the others. lucas’ mind was still on what’s going on clemson, such as would he come after him? was clemson even allowed to leave the state? 

lucas focused back to the profile being deliver, but he can sense reid’s eyes on him. 

garcia called in informing morgan that julie harmon, the latest victim was a sexual surrogate, hotch added that a sexual surrogate was specific it would mean they were trying to fix something. 

“a sexual surrogate could mean for anything, they help all times of disabilities, mentally, emotionally and physically” prentiss shared 

“it’s possible that the unsub is all three” morgan answered, explaining his reasons, rossi explained how the hands were placed, reid believed that the unsub was possibly in a wheelchair, jj got up to call garcia about it. 

hotch believed that they should talk to every social worker, anyone who would possibly have a connection towards the unsub and his partner. 

lucas felt sickness in his stomach once again, but it didn’t feel like he was going to throw up anytime soon, but he did feel like a nervous wreck. 

“i told you that you should set this one out” hotch said 

“i’m  _ fine, _ ” lucas responded. 

hotch and rossi were busy talking with detective brooks, while the others try to figure out the unsub, and what possibilities he could be, and who their parents were. jj suggested the idea that it could be parents protecting their children. 

“family?” lucas asked giving jj a confused look

“they raised them, they root for them” jj elaborated. 

reid added on that a parent would most likely hold themselves accountable for their child’s actions adding guilt to themselves. 

  
  


reid approached lucas asking if he was doing well, the young agent furrowed his eyebrow unsure how to respond, he didn’t even know how to feel, it was like everything seemed to pile on top of one another and he was finding it hard to breathe. 

“hotch, said you can sit this one out, we got this, lucas” 

“not until after the case” 

“well, maybe you should at least call liam…”

reid had a point, lucas nodded his head as he pulled out his phone and entered a conference room to call liam whom he has been avoiding all day. 

**_“hey, aren’t you on a case or did it finish?”_ **

**_“we need to talk….”_ **

  
  


lucas headed back out after talking with liam, and heard the news about jeffrey collins and his family, having him ask if it was possible they found their unsub; garcia sent them an address to head over to the house, once everyone received the address, they all began heading out. 

on the way to the collins’ house, they received a call about donald collins in a car crash, when they arrived on scene, detective brooks shared that donald wrote a letter saying that he confessed to all four murders. 

“even in death, he still covers for his son,” prentiss stated.

the way the car was hit, leaving no skid marks makes it seem that it was possible donald committed suicide by doing that exact same thing that caused his son, jeff to be paraplegic. 

“but then where’s his wife and son?” lucas asked. everyone rushed back in the car and headed to the house as soon as possible. 

  
  


morgan busted the door open, having lucas faintly remember him making a comment last night about morgan and knocking down doors. 

“get the hell out of my house!” shouted linda 

“get my dad, he’ll tell you she’s crazy” jeff said in a snarky tone. 

jj told jeff that his dad was killed in a car crash, linda was quick to rebuttal saying that it was donald who killed all those girls. 

“mrs. collins it’s over, jeff is coming with us” lucas in a calming tone. 

the team kept trying to talk linda out of harming the blonde woman that was in there, and have them take jeff but it seemed the guilt was already a lot, not wanting her son to be put in jail. jj asked once more for linda to put down the gun. 

“i always told you, mommy was always going to take care of everything,” linda said as she began pointing the gun at jeff, before she can make her shot, lucas fired at her stomach, having linda let go of the woman she was holding and fall to the ground. 

rossi went ahead and made the arrest. 

  
  


the team arrived back in quantico, lucas entered the building to leave some stuff and pick up and grab his stuff, he felt eyes on him; lucas looked up to see the team looking back at him. 

“i’m fine, okay i talked with liam about earlier and i talked to liam about what’s going on, in fact we have a lot to talk about so…” before lucas could finish his sentence, he looked down at his phone seeing that liam was calling him. 

“i have to go, liam’s here, but have fun at ladies’ night, and reid, good luck babysitting,” lucas said, rushing off. 

as lucas approached the car, he was busy looking at his phone to notice anything out of the ordinary. once he opened the door, got himself settled into the passenger, he turned to greet liam. 

“hey l-” lucas didn’t get a chance to finish his sentence, noticing a gun against liam’s head, lucas slowly turned to the backseat to see who was there and saw clemson. the anxiety took over again but this time he tried not to show it for the sake of liam and himself. 

“hey, lucas, missed me?” 

“let liam go, alright, this is between me and you” 

clemson shook his head saying that if lucas tries anything to get the team’s attention that liam dies, lucas felt his heart drop to his stomach, as clemson ordered liam to begin driving. 

“the three of us are going to have loads of fun….” clemson said, leaving chills down lucas’ spine.

  
  
  
  
  
  



	34. '𝐥𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐬'

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> lucas and liam are kidnapped by clemson, who wants vengeance after being thrown in prison for the claims made against him.

lucas felt tired, but felt something tighten around his wrist, he slowly woke up to see that liam was across from him and tied against a chair. the young agent tried to move and saw that he wasn’t able to move as well. 

“neither of you are going anywhere anytime soon” clemson’s voice rang into their ears, once again chills fell down lucas’ spine but he had to stay strong for liam, anything to keep liam safe and not harmed. 

“please, just let liam go, he has nothing to do with this” 

“i told you already, that i’m not letting him go, and that’s final, now we’re going to make a call to your unit chief, just say you’re out of town and if you even try  _ anything _ i will blow lover boy’s brains out” 

lucas couldn’t cry, but he hoped the team was able to figure it out, so he had clemson call hotch and he answered quickly, lucas’ stomach turned, clemson whispered again, threatening if lucas did anything to warn hotch, liam was a goner. 

**_“hey, hotch, it’s lucas….i just wanted to let you know, i won’t be able to make it today, i got a sudden call from pilar about my dad, he’s in the hospital and i’m catching the next flight to nevada, i’m so sorry for the sudden call”_ **

**_“no, it’s alright, thank you for calling me ahead of time, please take as much time as you need”_ **

hotch hanged up, and clemson pulled the phone away and tossed it to the side, congratulating lucas on following directions. 

  
  
  
  


“lucas, won’t be joining us today, he had business to pursue in nevada, his father is in the hospital” hotch announced before he would continue the case. reid looked up in surprise, remembering that lucas told reid that his mom and dad were finally cleaning out lucas’ room to have the cortez siblings’ older cousin move into the house and pilar was going to try and save lucas’ stuff. 

“that’s not true,” reid claimed, everyone looked at the boy genius with confused looks. reid explained further that lucas’ father was fine and in good health, prentiss asked why would lucas lie about his dad. everyone stayed quiet, before garcia called lucas and he didn’t pick up, then she called liam who also didn’t pick up. 

“anything?” asked morgan 

“no, neither of them are picking up, didn’t lucas say, liam was picking him last night” 

prentiss nodded her head, hotch then told garcia to call the police station in new york to see when was the last time they had seen clemson. jj asked hotch if he believed that clemson left new york to get revenge on lucas. 

“it’s possible, because lucas told us about what happened, we used that to expose clemson, others came forward at his trial because of lucas’ story, and now he blames lucas for his time in prison” rossi responded, morgan added that was it possible if clemson could take them back all the way to new york. 

“no, that would be too much time” 

“we can’t leave this case to any other team, garcia, stay here with jj and try to see if you can find out anything with lucas, the rest of us will go to chicago” hotch ordered, reid seemed hesitate about leaving to go on the case, garcia walked over to him and assured reid that everything is going to be okay. 

  
  


“what do you want with me clemson?” lucas asked, 

“you ruined my life, you threw me in jail” 

lucas shook his head, clemson was placed in prison for his terrible actions, clemson punched lucas multiple times, repeating over and over that he shouldn’t have said anything and that this is what he was getting for opening his mouth. 

“stop it! stop hurting him!” liam shouted, lucas let out a shaking sigh as clemson stopped punching lucas, slowly turning around to face liam, lucas begged for clemson not to lay a hand on him at all. 

“do you wanna know what your boyfriend lied about to get me jail”

“i didn’t lie, other men stepped forward” 

“ _ THOSE MEN LIED! YOU ALL LIED! _ ”

lucas flinched at clemson’s voice yelling, the agent examined the room realizing they were in a hotel room of some sort, clemson went on talking about the ‘lie’ lucas told about clemson. liam shook his head saying he knew what clemson did to lucas back in 2005. 

“i didn’t do anything! he  _ claims  _ that i forced him down and-” 

“i don’t want to hear what you did to him, you monster” liam said before spitting on the ground, lucas felt his heart racing heavily hoping clemson doesn’t do anything to liam. 

clemson never liked it when someone stood up to him, lucas felt his stomach dropped, praying he doesn’t do anything to liam. 

“you think you’re so tough? huh? law boy?” 

“leave him al-”

“ _ I’M NOT TALKING TO YOU RIGHT NOW,  _ i’m talking to lover boy, wait your turn” 

  
  


“okay so update, where clemson worked, they haven’t heard from him in a long time, they said when he was released from prison, he took a few weeks off and then when he was suppose to come back to work he didn’t and his apartment is empty, nothing in there as if he didn’t move anything since he returned home” garcia rambled to jj, which lead her to ask if anyone possible had an idea of what clemson was planning. garcia replied that there was one officer who was close with clemson, and visited him in prison whenever he could. 

“great, call him, see if he can get here as soon as possible,” jj said before rushing off to tell hotch what they have so far, building up the case for lucas. 

  
  


the case in chicago, involved morgan’s cousin, who most of his family presumed was dead, it seemed they were close to finding cindi (morgan’s cousin) and the man who morgan’s sister, desiree saw in the car with her. hotch entered the room, having all eyes on him, seeing if he had any news on lucas’ whereabouts. 

“garcia found out that clemson was not returned to work when he was suppose to” 

“wait, he was allowed to return to work?” asked prentiss crossing her arms, hotch nodded answering her question which caused prentiss to roll her eyes. hotch said that they should continue on this case and when they head back home they’ll find out more. 

“jj, he’s here,” garcia said, walking quickly to the blonde hair woman, who looked behind garcia and saw a man with short brown hair waiting by the door. 

“mr. mannings, hi, i’m agent jareau, thank you so much for coming in so quickly” jj lead mannings to the integration room at the BAU, to start asking some questions. 

  
  
  


clemson was currently not in the room, lucas was trying to find a way to loosen the rope around his wrist to be able to get liam out of here but nothing. liam looked over at lucas, he could see the scared and frustration in his eyes.

“lucas...stop, before you hurt yourself even more” 

“how are you so fucking calm!” lucas hissed, he hated how he snapped at liam, it wasn’t fair to either of them. liam said that they had to have faith, lucas stopped struggling. part of lucas wanted to believe liam, but it was such a scary situation, the other part of him has dealt with situations like this and he couldn’t just sit still and wait till the BAU team swooped in to save them. 

liam elaborated that he knew lucas was an agent, but he had to keep hope. lucas’ hope was the prentiss and jj barge into those doors, that morgan and reid come in and take liam out of here, all he wanted was to be out of here, why did he always get the short end of the stick. 

“short end of the stick…” lucas mumbled to himself, liam was about to ask what he meant, but clemson returned back to the room. 

“are you ready to talk, tell everyone how you lied about me” 

“even if i did that doesn’t mean all the other accusations of the other men would magically disappear, i’m not lying for you to have your life back!” lucas said, his voice rising louder and louder, receiving another punch from clemson; who then pulled out a gun and pointed it at liam’s thigh, 

“say you’ll speak out or else he gets a shot” clemson threaten, 

lucas couldn’t say no, he didn’t want liam anymore hurt than he already was, he didn’t deserve to suffer because of what lucas has to go through. 

“lucas, you don’t have to, i can take it” liam confessed, lucas felt his heart racing and tears falling from his face. he didn’t want to have liam get shot. but liam shook his head saying for lucas not to not say anything. 

clemson began a countdown from three to one, liam kept shaking his head, lucas blurted out saying he’ll make a confession, clemson smiled fondly before lowering the gun and rushing out of the room, as if he was going to call someone else. 

“lucas…” 

“i couldn’t have you get hurt….” lucas mumbled load enough for liam to hear, who just sat there giving sad eyes to lucas. 

  
  


the team arrived back from chicago, morgan’s cousin and his aunt were reunited, but their work wasn’t done yet, they still had to find lucas and liam. as soon as they reached the sixth floor, hotch asked jj and garcia got anything on clemson. 

jj explained that mannings’ the one another friend of clemson, seemed a bit jumpy around the questions that jj was asking him, which lead to garcia tracing his phone, so far he’s made four phone calls to clemson. 

“and they’re all in d.c., however, it seems like clemson is using a burner phone because we can’t locate where clemson is” garcia shared. 

“and there’s nothing we can do to find out where clemson is?” reid asked 

“unless he makes a call exactly where clemson possible is, unfortunately no” jj shared, reid then asked he needed a map of d.c., before rushing off to his desk. everyone knew how much reid meant to lucas and vice versa. for example, on a case one time, an officer made a snarky joke about reid which caused lucas to chew the officer out and if it wasn’t for morgan to hold him back, lucas would’ve knocked his lights out. 

  
  
  


clemson untied lucas and pulled him to stand up, holding a gun against his back, threatening that if lucas tries anything, he would be a goner and so would, lucas was forced to sit back down but at a table outside of the room, was set with a camera ready to record lucas his ‘apology’. clemson left lucas alone to make a call to whomever he’s been calling for the past hours.

  
  
  


“i got something!” garcia ran out of her nook and rushed over to the team in the round room and informed the team where mannings’ last call was, and it was possible it’s where lucas and liam are being held. garcia informed it was a hotel, giving them an address, hotch ordered everyone out and get to the hotel quick. garcia prayed they get lucas back, and that’s all she can do, stay back and pray the hope for lucas and liam’s safety. 

  
  


a knock on the door, cause lucas to jump slightly, clemson walked over and opened the door to reveal mannings, a familiar face to lucas. it wasn’t a surprise that mannings was part of this, when lucas worked back in new york, he remembered mannings constantly checking up on lucas saying to not say anything about what clemson did to him. 

“why am i not surprise you’re part of this mannings” lucas snarled 

“we just need you to clear up that this was all a big mistake, that clemson didn’t do anything,” mannings said. if lucas was looking at this as a case, clemson was the dominant and mannings was the submissive partner, and if even, they were in love with each other in a sick, sick, way. 

“remember, you do anything, and i mean  _ anything  _ wrong, you and pretty boy over there are gone” it was a repeating and taunting threat towards lucas, who noticed mannings looking at clemson, with a concerned look on his face. lucas shared he wasn’t going to lie, it wasn’t fair to himself or others who went through it with clemson. 

“and i mentioned this before, even if i come out and say this, you have other accusations” lucas said, clemson chuckled saying that he’ll be doing the same thing he’s doing to lucas and liam. but clemson wanted to start it with lucas because of him. 

  
  
  


the team arrived at the hotel, hotch had one group go through the basement, and the others through the main entrance. reid felt his stomach drop, he was so concerned about lucas, wondering how badly hurt he was, just like what happened in new york; once prentiss got the room where clemson and mannings possibly are, they made their way up the stairs. 

reid kept thinking back to new york, and kept thinking what to do and maybe that he should call pilar. morgan got his attention back by saying that he needed to focus, reid nodded as they drew closer to the room. 

prentiss knocked on the door before introducing herself, there was a shuffle and a grunt from the other side, reid can make out the sound being from lucas but he couldn’t move until it was a go. after a few minutes, morgan broke down the door, mannings was in the room with a camera, his hands up in fear. prentiss asked where clemson was. 

“ _ LET GO OF ME YOU F- _ ” lucas was shoved to the ground, clemson pointed the gun frantically back and forth to lucas and reid, claiming that he told lucas if any of his team members was involved that liam would get hurt. 

“don’t you dare hurt liam, it’s my fault not his!” lucas snapped, prentiss had arrested mannings, and morgan and reid were trying to talk down clemson from doing anything but clemson didn’t want to go back to prison. 

reid noticed a figure coming from behind clemson, hearing a shot from lucas: “liam! no!”

liam had lunged and attacked clemson from behind trying to knock him down and snatch the gun away from him, but clemson was able to get him off his back. once clemson focused back to liam, the pair fought for possession of the gun. morgan moved forward and took lucas out. the young agent tried to remove himself from morgan’s arm, not wanting to leave liam alone. 

“let me go! let me go! i can’t leave liam!” lucas shouted. 

once lucas was left with prentiss, morgan rushed back into the room to help out what was going on and made sure no one got hurt. liam was still fighting clemson, reid had his aim ready, while morgan shouted for clemson and liam to stop and calm down. 

but it was too late, clemson made the shot, killing liam instantly in the heart. the shot rang, catching lucas’ attention and running back to the room before prentiss held him back. 

morgan made the arrest and led clemson out before handing him over to the police, reid followed behind closely, just then the medics came rushing in to see liam. 

“spence?” lucas’ voice entered his ear, causing him to turn and look at the agent, reid felt like he let down lucas, dropping his head and shaking it in despair. a loud sob broke from lucas, he fell to the ground, possibly feeling at fault for liam’s death. 

there was nothing no one can do. 

  
  
  


lucas was taken to the hospital to get checked out by the medics, reid was finally able to make a call to pilar, informing her everything. everyone stayed in the hospital waiting room, a doctor came out asking for reid. 

“h-he’s asking for me?” asked reid, the doctor nodded her head before leading reid over to lucas’ room. 

  
  


when reid arrived, he gave a soft smile to lucas who didn’t seem happy whatsoever. reid sat down at a chair next to lucas, he can see the bruises and cuts on his face, the tear stains on lucas’ face. reid sat closer reaching for lucas’ hand; reid tried so hard not to cry in front of lucas, he had to stay strong. 

“lucas...i’m sorry” 

“don’t be, spence, it’s not your fault, okay?” 

spencer didn’t want to leave lucas’ side whatsoever, but after everyone came in to speak to lucas, it was time for visiting hours to be over, and considering emily was his emergency contact, she decided to stay. spencer took once last glance at lucas before leaving for the night. 

  
  


it was now, just lucas and emily; she can tell how much pain he was in after losing, lucas; it wasn’t fair to him, about how much he has suffered from new york, to now. emily patted his hand as she remained by his side. 

lucas wasn’t sure how he was going to recover from this, he was tired of all of this. 

“how are you feeling?” 

“what if i didn’t come back to the BAU?” 


	35. 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐳 𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> lucas has been in the hospital for a couple of days, receiving visitor after visitor, when he gets a call from pilar informing him that she's coming to see him and brought along someone, the last person he assumed it would be was his older sister, esmeralda

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw// victim blaming by esmeralda

lucas remained in the hospital for a couple of days, people came by to visit, spencer was able to call pilar to fly down to virginia to come visit, however she decided to bring along a visitor that lucas did not expect. 

but till then, lucas was not sure who it was, penelope was currently visiting lucas, she had brought a gift basket and some balloons, he wasn’t sure what to do with the gift basket because most of it had cheese and lucas wasn’t a fan of cheese unless it was cheddar or parmesan or mozzarella. maybe lucas can give the ones he doesn’t want to rossi for who knows what, penelope took notice of the worry in lucas’ eyes. 

“everything alright?” 

“i’m just thinking…” 

“you wanna talk?” 

lucas shook his head, saying that he’ll be fine but penelope responded that he wasn’t fine and it was alright to feel the way he was feeling; lucas however snapped back saying that he was fine and didn’t want to talk about it. penelope was taken back by the harsh tone of voice, lucas hardly used it on anyone in the team; lucas had notice this and quickly began apologizing to penelope for his tone of voice. 

penelope let out a sad smile towards lucas letting him know that she knew lucas was tired and already in enough pain. 

“penelope, really i’m sorry, i don’t care how much pain i am, i shouldn’t have just snapped” lucas said, penelope walked over and gently grabbed hold of lucas’ hand and told him to relax. the young agent reached his other arm to pull penelope into a hug. 

soon after penelope left, jj and her family arrived. lucas saw that henry had something in his hand, it was possible a ‘get well soon’ card or just a drawing in general. lucas let out a small smile as they reached closer to his room. 

“lucas, how are you feeling?” jj asked, the young agent gave a thumbs up, as will picked henry to place him on the foot of the hospital bed. will glanced over at the cheese gift basket and asked who brought it. 

“penelope but i only like three different cheese so if you guys want to grab some, be my guest, i was planning on giving all of it to rossi, but now i’m thinking a ‘hey, come to visit me, you’ll get a cheese’ or something” lucas said jokingly. 

will informed lucas that that henry drew him a ‘get well soon’ card, henry who was on the foot of the bed, revealed his drawing to lucas, it read (or seemed to read) ‘get well soon’ with stick figure drawing of lucas and henry and he then opened the card that had a much bigger drawing and notes on the right from the family. 

“i love it, henry, it’s very well drawn” 

“daddy, help me color it,” henry said proudly. lucas thanked both of them, jj seemed that lucas wanted to talk about something with jj only, so she asked will if he and henry could leave them be for a few minutes. 

will nodded, as he grabbed henry and told him that they were going to the cafeteria, henry told his dad to ask lucas if he wanted anything. 

“lucas, henry wants to know if you would like anything” 

“i haven’t had a doughnut in days so if you find one with chocolate frosting and sprinkles…” lucas said smiling, henry said they were on it before they left. jj closed the door behind them before turning back to lucas, she asked what was going on in his mind. 

“i’ve been thinking of resigning from the BAU, well as an FBI in general” 

“what? lucas, why?” 

“why do you think, jj? i’ve been through hell, i know most of you guys have been able to move forward and not look back or whatever, but i can’t, i’ve been through a lot, i’ve been kidnapped twice” 

jj knew that she couldn’t change lucas’ mind, she knew that he’s been through a lot, so she then asks lucas if he put some thought into this. lucas replied that it was not an official commitment, but he’s been considering it. jj felt like she let down lucas, she didn’t want him to leave, he’s been a great addition to the team, to their little family. 

“just please keep thinking about it,” jj finally said, lucas nodded his head before the door was slightly open, having jj move aside from the door and let in will and henry, who revealed they found a chocolate doughnut for lucas. the young agent thanked them before wishing them all farewell, jj and him shared one last look before she left with her family. 

lucas decided to rest once and for all, when he closed his eyes all he can see is liam. all the memories they had together, they’ve kept coming back more often, it would either bring full on tears in lucas’ eyes or just make him smile, regardless it hurt, because it made lucas realize that it was his fault for liam’s death. 

  
  


spencer hasn’t come to visit lucas at all since he got into the hospital, it made lucas wonder if spencer hated him for some reason, which then returned back to lucas’ thought of leaving the BAU. would spencer want to talk to him? would any of them want to talk to him? the thought of all of them just dropping lucas if he leaves breaks his heart. 

  
  


the following day, lucas was surprised to see hotch, his son and beth (his new girlfriend). which meant lucas was going to receive another drawing, which would be proudly placed next to henry’s drawing; lucas wasn’t sure if he should tell hotch right away about what he wants to do with his future at the BAU, so instead lucas just breath in and let out a smile. 

  
  


beth was first to greet lucas, who smiled back and asked if they would like to take some cheese with them, hotch shook his head saying they were fine. 

“well, damn can you at least take it with you and give it rossi, leave the cheddar, parmesan and mozzarella though, the only cheese i will have,” lucas said, crossing his arms. hotch asked how everything was, lucas did nothing but nod and smile, fake till you make it. 

hotch ended up taking the basket and leaving the cheese that lucas wanted, and soon after, the visitors started piling up. amanda and derek ended up coming around the same time, having lucas introduce the two, they kept him company before leaving. of course, emily came by, feeling like it was her fault that lucas got into this mess, wishing she was there to make sure nothing happened. 

“hey, i told you it’s not your fault, i promise” lucas said, hugging emily, who tried not to cry. the pair continued talking about lucas’ possible decision, to which lucas replied that he hadn't told hotch or derek who came by. 

“but i told jj, she doesn’t seem to happy about my possible decision” 

“i’m not either, but if you think it’s best for you, i fully support you,” emily said. lucas gave her a small smile of reassurance, before looking over at the doorway and notice spencer standing there with a pile of books, emily turned around and noticed him as well before getting up and telling lucas she’ll come by another time. 

spencer began apologizing to emily about intruding but emily rebuttal saying that it wasn’t a big deal, before telling lucas good bye, and leaving. lucas gave spencer a small smile but in reality he was happy to see spencer, out of everyone. 

“you’re the one person i wanted to see, but you never came…” 

“i’m sorry, lucas i just...i feel like it’s my fault” 

“it’s not your fault, god you sound like emily” lucas said laughing. 

spencer placed his books on the counter next to lucas’ desk. the pair looked at one another, before spencer mumbled an apology again, lucas claimed that it was his own fault that liam was dead, which spencer hated to hear because lucas shouldn’t blame himself. 

“i brought books, i thought maybe we can read together,” lucas smiled and nodded, just as spencer pulled out the first book the door opened, revealing the only pilar, but someone else that spencer had never met. 

“esmeralda?” 

“hello, lucas” 

lucas glared heavily at the woman who he called esmeralda, spencer assumed it was his older sister perhaps, he stood up and introduced herself. esmeralda looked at spencer and observed him from head to toe.

“what are you? his boyfriend?” esmeralda snapped, with a disgusting tone at the word, boyfriend, pilar shoved her sister lightly telling esmeralda that spencer was a friend of lucas and that he just lost his boyfriend. spencer remembered he told pilar some details but not total about the case, especially about clemson. 

“spencer, can you get some food for me in the cafeteria, i think this hospital food is going to be the death of me” lucas said letting out a weak laugh, spencer nodded as he began to leave the room, he stopped in front of pilar and asked if her or esmeralda wanted anything from the cafeteria. pilar respectfully declined and esmeralda didn’t answer at all, having spencer leave with only something for lucas. 

  
  


spencer wanted to stay and listen to what the conversation would be between the cortez siblings but instead he just walked away not wanting to be nosy. 

  
  


“why did you bring her here?” 

“i asked myself the same question, i told pilar that you decided your klutz self to join the FBI academy there was going to be a moment where you ended up in the hospital” 

pilar responded that it wasn’t lucas’ first time in the hospital and for esmeralda to stop being so insensitive towards lucas, because of what he went through. esmeralda rolled her eyes, earning a glare from lucas. 

“beside i brought esmeralda here because you were in the hospital, we’re siblings! we can all agree mom and dad are the worst parents but we never stood by for each other, especially us, esmeralda, we never stood up for lucas” 

“he deserved what he got!” esmeralda snarled. 

lucas looked down at his hands, he tried not to cry, instead pilar changed the subject and asked lucas what happened and why he was kidnapped, which reminded lucas he never told pilar what happened in new york 2005. lucas took a deep breath, ready to share about clemson and everything that was going on. 

  
  
  


“he did  _ what _ ?” snapped pilar, the plastic cup she got from the water cooler outside was now crushed in her hand. esmeralda had no reaction whatsoever except for saying that lucas probably had it coming. 

pilar looked at esmeralda with an angry look saying that she shouldn’t be saying that to lucas. the door was open, revealing spencer. all three cortez siblings looked back at him. 

“maybe you should leave…” spencer said 

lucas told spencer that it was alright, to not worry about it, pilar noticed spencer’s frowning, before telling lucas that she’ll come back tomorrow to speak to him and walked over to give him a hug. esmeralda was already out the door, pilar told spencer goodbye and the two sisters headed off, lucas noticed esmeralda looking back at them, especially spencer. 

“sorry about my sister” lucas said, spencer didn’t like esmeralda, he wanted to say that maybe he was being too harsh for the first impression but then again, he had every right to be furious. 

lucas seemed like he was going to cry any time soon, before he casually mentioned that rossi hasn’t been to the hospital to visit him. spencer responded that rossi probably did but didn’t have time, which lucas said was fine. 

spencer then remembered he got a sandwich and juice for lucas before handing it to him, the agent thanked spencer for getting him something. 

“spencer, i need to tell you something” 

“yeah?” 

“i’m considering leaving the BAU, you’re out of three people who know” 

spencer asked who were the other two, which lucas responded that it was emily and jj; quickly adding that he would’ve told penelope but lucas didn’t want to see her cry, it would cause lucas to feel bad for her, especially after losing jj and emily. 

spencer wanted to tell lucas that he shouldn’t do it, plus, lucas said he was considering not actually doing it. 

“i don’t want you to leave” spencer’s voice cracked slightly, which caught lucas’ attention, his heart broke a little, he remembered how spencer was when jj left for the pentagon, and his reaction to emily’s ‘death’. 

“you’re my friend, and you’re part of our family, i can’t lose you” 

“spencer...i’ll still be in virginia, it’s still not official,” lucas replied. 

spencer looked down at the ground, lucas reached out to spencer and patted his head lightly, he knew that he’ll still be in virginia, but it wouldn’t be the same, maybe that’s why spencer was hurting. lucas thought back to liam, he would’ve wanted lucas to stay and to fight back because he believed lucas was a bad ass. 

a tear fell down lucas’ face, causing him to sniffle before wiping away his tears. 

“did i make you cry? i’m sorry” 

“no, no, i’m just thinking about liam, spence, if i tell you i’ll stay, can you promise me something?” 

“anything” 

“stay by my side?” 

“always” 

  
lucas let out a sigh, before telling spencer to start reading  _ little women _ . 


	36. 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐬

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> lucas was let out of the hospital and had been on rest for a week so far, but it has been eventful, with surprise guest and many faces, and all lucas wanted was to sleep and forget everything

lucas was let out of the hospital a few days later, hotch told him to remain at home till he was better. who knows when that would be considering that he lost liam, he was still having thoughts of leaving the FBI, pilar was still in town with esmeralda which didn’t help. 

but lucas also insisted for pilar to stay with him at his apartment, which also meant bringing esmeralda into his apartment. a knock came on the door as lucas was finishing giving robin his food (he will need to make a gift basket for penelope for taking care of him when she realized he was missing and in the hospital), the young man walked over to the door to reveal pilar and esmeralda. 

“can you at least pretend to be happy to be here…” lucas commented. 

esmeralda rolled her eyes and followed pilar into the apartment, lucas copied esmeralda’s motion before going on and closing the door behind them. pilar walked over and greeted robin who meowed at pilar petting him. 

“ew, you have a cat” 

“you can always go ahead and sleep on the streets,” lucas snarled back. pilar quickly stepped in asking lucas if they were staying in the same room that pilar slept in when she was here. 

the middle child of the cortez family, nodded his head, which led to pilar leading esmeralda to the room. lucas wanted to punch himself in the face for his younger sister, bringing esmeralda with her to virginia. lucas decided to go ahead and finish cooking dinner, that is now for three because for some reason he believed esmeralda was going to stay at the hotel. 

  
  


lucas made a family favorite which was _ lomo saltado _ , however esmeralda claims that it wasn’t good enough, not like their mom’s, pilar lightly kicked their sister under the table and giving her a glare. 

“listen, i said i come i never said i would pretend to be nice,” esmeralda commented to pilar, who seemed like giving up at this point and felt bad for inviting esmeralda. lucas realized that maybe when he started to reconnect with pilar, it wasn’t her that he should be worried about. 

it was esmeralda. 

  
  


after dinner, lucas shared he was going to his room, so that his sisters could go ahead and watch t.v. if they wanted and if they needed anything to knock on his door. pilar nodded her head, as esmeralda asked dryly where the showers were, lucas pointed towards the end of the hall, before he can close the door, pilar shared that she’ll try her best to help esmeralda her away around the house. 

“thank you” lucas said before shutting the door behind him. 

  
  


lucas felt his phone buzz, having him pick it up. 

**_“hello?”_ **

**_“hey, we missed you at the lecture we had today”_ **

**_“isn’t today rossi’s birthday too?”_ **

spencer responded that it was in fact his birthday but he didn’t like it considering that he had to visit the same prisoner every year to get a name. lucas remembered thomas yates, it all started back in 2009, and when yates finally reached out to the team, he only specifically wanted to talk to rossi, informing him that there were 101 victims. so in order for rossi to get the names and find the bodies, he would have to come to visit yates every year on the day of his birthday. since then rossi most definitely hated his birthday. 

lucas asked if the lecture went well, spencer shared that he believed it did. 

**_“how are you though?”_ **

**_“spence…”_ **

**_“i’m sorry i just wanted to ask”_ **

lucas quickly responded that it was fine and nothing to do with spencer, then suddenly he heard a knock from the door entrance, causing him to tell spencer that he’ll call him back as soon as possible before hanging up abruptly and heading towards the door to answer. 

when lucas opened it he saw none other than ben standing on the opposing side. 

“ben?” lucas asked in surprised

“ben?” asked both of his sisters in confusion, 

ben jameson was once again in his life. 

  
  


esmeralda had recently finished her shower, she was now in her pajamas; pilar on the other hand was already in her pajamas but was just as confused as lucas on ben’s surprise appearances. lucas wasn’t sure how to respond, before ben asked if he could be let in; lucas nodded his head frantically before stepping to the side and letting ben into the apartment and shutting the door behind him. 

“what are you doing here?” 

“i heard from garrett and your friends, about what happened and i wanted to check up on you when you were in the hospital, but then i thought that maybe it wasn’t best timing, and now i’m here and for some reason so are your sisters” ben said giving both of them a glare. 

esmeralda could care less about what ben was thinking, pilar on the other hand seemed anxious, knowing their history. lucas informed ben that he was reconnecting with pilar, it’s been a couple of months almost a year since lucas and pilar started talking. esmeralda added that she was dragged along with pilar to come to virginia. 

ben pulled lucas to the side and asked if this was the best idea for him, considering what lucas went through when they were teens, but lucas knew what he was doing, and he was playing it safe. 

pilar crossed her arms and said: “i know you don’t like us ben, i don’t blame you but the real question is what are you doing here?” 

“don’t turn this against me!” ben shouted but lucas was quick to rebuttal asking ben what was he doing here, before ben replied that he already told lucas why he was here, reaching for his shoulder causing lucas to pull away. 

“you could’ve call and not come” 

“i have been calling you! but it goes through voice mail” 

“that should’ve been a sign for you to not come, ben” 

lucas mumbled something about how there were too many people in the apartment making him wonder how the ghost in the apartment will react with the amount of people in the room. ben scratched the back of his head and said it was getting late and asked if it was okay for them to talk about this tomorrow. 

“fine” lucas said, opening the door, ben gave lucas a confused look causing lucas to reply that ben wasn’t going to stay here and he could get a hotel room. ben wanted to fight back but seeing the face on lucas caused ben to just walk right on out. 

esmeralda made a comment about how she was glad lucas was done with ben, he wasn’t even good enough. lucas slammed the door loudly, regarding it quickly due to his neighbors, and turned around to esmeralda, he was done with her attitude. 

“listen i know you hate me and such, but you can at least try some sympathy! i’m your brother for God’s sake, we haven’t seen each other since i left for columbia and pilar reached out to me because she cared and wanted to reconnect after everything that happen and yes i was skeptical but she showed me that she was sorry and she wanted to be in my life again. you on the other hand, have done nothing but guilt me and made me feel bad and things awkward no matter what!” 

“i didn’t even wanna be here! do you think i wanna come see the disappointment of a son who ran away all those years ago, again?  _ mama y papa estaban correcto,  _ you are nothing but a failure, an accident!” 

pilar exclaimed emeralda’s name, lucas tried not to cry, before saying: “i think it’s best if you go along with ben and sleep at a hotel as well” 

esmeralda agreed to the comment before grabbing her things and leaving. pilar watched as her older sister left, as the door shut, lucas couldn’t help but apologize to pilar for the commotion. pilar shook her head saying that it was her fault that all of this was happening, which caused lucas to shake his head 

“let’s just get some sleep, alright?” lucas grabbed robin and began making his way to his room, pilar the same but with the guest bedroom. 

just like that, the somewhat long day had ended. 

  
  
  


the following day, lucas woke up to find pilar on the phone, it must’ve been esmeralda, he tried to ignore it but felt bad. there were no calls from ben, but there was a text message from jj, emily, amanda, garrett (apologizing for telling ben what was up), penelope and spencer. 

**jj**

_ ben’s here? you’re kidding what did he want?  _

**emily**

_ hold up what happened? call me when you can, kiddo _

**amanda**

_ damn, i am so sorry if you need anything let me know  _

**garrett**

_ fuck, i am so sorry lucas! this is my fauly  _

**penelope**

_ no, oh no, that’s it i’m coming over asap tomorrow night _

**spence**

_ garcia shares that you might need me so we’re coming over tomorrow night  _

ah yes his two favorite people coming to breakfast, it would be nice to see some friends after he comes back from therapy. around the afternoon, lucas decided to head out to his appointment, he told pilar that he’s going out, the youngest cortez waved goodbye to her brother as he left for his appointment. lucas got into his car and pulled out to go to his therapist, he drove past the coffee shop, where he usually goes but since liam’s death, he hasn’t really stopped by to visit. 

  
  


there was a lot to unload today, and lucas wasn’t even sure if an hour was enough for everything. 

  
  
  


“so, it’s been a lot since then? i heard about what happen a few weeks ago, which means you probably have a lot of emotions going through you right now” 

“i just...i’ve been considering leaving the BAU, because of everything i’ve been through and losing liam...” 

“let’s talk about that, you finally got out of your shell and started dating, and it must’ve been painful but you cannot blame yourself for what happened, lucas a lot of things happened during that time, and you are feeling lots of emotions right now, it’s best to keep a journal when you’re not here but need to let it out” 

his therapist was right, so much happened and lucas just felt like he needed to scream, his therapist asked if there was anything else going on, lucas replied that pilar came and brought esmeralda with her. lucas replied esmeralda was always the coldest towards lucas, and added how she said lucas had it coming when she told her sisters about what happened in new york both times. 

“where is esmeralda now?” 

“in a hotel, i couldn’t deal with her negativity, but i also couldn’t let her go because she came with pilar” 

they continued talking about what lucas could do with everything going on, and his overwhelming feelings, it was going to be a long ride, it seemed like it was never going to end. 

  
  
  


arriving back at his apartment, he heard ruckus coming from within, lucas panicked and rushed quickly to open the door, when he finally did, he saw penelope, pilar and jj in the kitchen with robin, holding on to one another. lucas glanced over to emily shouting at someone on the ground of his floor, spencer was close by with a bruise under his cheek. 

“spencer? what happened?” lucas asked, making a beeline towards him and checking to see if he was alright, when he glanced back to the living room, he saw morgan and ben? 

lucas made his way over, and attempted to tug ben off of morgan, before dragging him into his room and slammed the door loudly. it was quiet for a few moments, lucas was so confused on what he walked in his apartment, but instead of asking ben, he instead decided to say: “ben, i think it’s time for you to leave,  _ now _ and don’t come back another day, please if you wanna talk to me, it’s by phone that’s it, i’m sorry” lucas said in the most sincere possible way. 

ben looked at lucas before nodding his head slightly and making his way out of the apartment, lucas observed ben strolling past everyone, glancing over at morgan slightly before finally leaving through the door. 

“i leave therapy because of everything that’s going on this week and the past weeks just to come home to this, what happened?” lucas asked, looking at everyone, before looking at spencer, who kept touching his bruise. lucas walked over to spencer and grabbed him by the hand leading him into the kitchen before handing him the ice pack and tossing another to morgan. 

lucas as still waiting for answer, finally emily spoke up: “basically we all came because penelope and spencer were going to come, and we wanted to tag along, and then about an hour later, ben arrived, and we were so confused by him being here and pilar shared with us that he arrived yesterday. then there was some awkward tension, before morgan asked why ben was here” 

emily continued on that ben responded that pilar already told them why but morgan wanted to hear from ben because the last time they all saw ben, was when he came to virginia and both him and lucas got into a fight. morgan pointed out that ben shouldn’t be here at all and if he wanted to talk to lucas to have called him. jj continued off this point, saying that ben soon started trying to fight morgan, and spencer tried to stop it but got injured in the process. 

lucas rolled his eyes, ben tended to get defensive and it ends up with him in fights. the young man walked over to spencer and checked on him and asked him if he was alright which spencer nodded his head. lucas walked over to derek and asked him the same, which derek answered yes, that he was alright, before earning a smack over the head from lucas. 

“next time take it outside!” 

derek made a quick apology, penelope placed robin on the counter before sharing that she should probably finish up dinner, lucas prayed they brought drinks with them. 

late night, they were all around the living room, lucas asked pilar if there was any news from esmeralda, the young cortez shared that she was doing alright, the sisters were leaving tomorrow so esmeralda would meet her at the airport. 

lucas kept glancing over at spencer, he felt bad wishing he told his friends about ben’s arrival. 

it has indeed been a very long couple of weeks for lucas. 


	37. 𝐡𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐮𝐧

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the BAU takes on a case involving the bank robbers, the team determines that the suspects have a bigger target at D.C., and with one of the team still a hostage, they must work quickly to defuse an explosive situation. also, wedding bells ring for one of the BAU member, which is the start of a new chapter 
> 
> but another ponders on their future at their BAU

pilar had gone back home with esmeralda, lucas wished pilar the best and didn’t say to esmeralda. but thankfully now that they’re gone, lucas feels more at ease 

it was currently the weekend, and lucas got a call from penelope that her and spencer were coming by to pick him up for some convention. lucas has never been to a convention in his life, but he sort of knew what goes down but he also wasn’t entirely sure, the only thing he was sure about was that people cosplay that’s it. 

lucas heard a knock on his door, he was finishing leaving food for robin before walking over and opening the door to reveal penelope dressed up as the eleventh doctor and spencer as the fourth, matching hat and scarf. 

“oh my god” lucas said laughing slightly. 

“laugh all you want but  _ doctor who  _ is our favorite show” penelope replied. spencer rebuttal saying that lucas watched doctor _ who _ ; which caused penelope to gasp, surprised by the fact lucas watched the show. 

“are you for real?” penelope asked 

“yeah, eleven is my favorite, but don’t worry, spence, i know you’re the fourth” lucas replied 

“oh my god! you can dress up as a companion or someone” 

lucas shook his head as he gently pushed his friends out the door, before locking the door behind him and following the pair downstairs to head out. 

  
  


lucas did not expect his weekend to be at a  _ doctor who  _ convention but he did love the show, and going with his friends makes it worth wild, well that was till they ran into kevin lynch. penelope and kevin had parted ways due to the fact she wasn’t ready for a serious commitment (marriage), and he just so happened to be at the same convention dressed as eleven as well with someone dressed as amy pond. 

it was an awkward encounter, kevin noticed lucas and asked if he was a fan of the show. 

“totally, love the amy ponds cosplay by the way, i love the ponds but clara is also my favorite” lucas commented, penelope quickly said that they had places to be before rushing spencer and lucas away from kevin.

but it caused them to run into rossi. 

“what are you doing here?” lucas asked, scoffing. 

“I could ask you the same...but i don’t have to” rossi said glancing up and down at penelope and spencer’s cosplay outfits, lucas rolled his eyes before asking rossi why he was here and he said something about cigarettes which caused lucas to zone out a bit. 

“i’m plotting revenge against kevin, wanna help?” penelope asked

“no...now i love you all, but it’s saturday, and it’s my day off so i’ll love you from afar” rossi said before leaving, lucas rolled his eyes watching rossi leave; before he notice spencer and penelope looking elsewhere and when lucas looked over he saw strauss causing him to roll his eyes. 

“ugh, can’t stand her” 

“lucas don’t you realize what’s going on?” penelope asked. lucas furrowed his eyebrows before slowly realizing something causing him to nearly yell out ‘oh my god’ before spencer covered his mouth from shouting. 

  
  


“so what’s emily up to?” asked spencer

“i think she’s looking into this house, which surprises me much so, but hopefully once she settles in, i finally know who’s house to go to for wine” lucas joked before taking a bit into his food, just as he did penelope got a text and gave the other two a look. 

“no, no, don’t you dare tell me we got a case” lucas said

penelope stayed quiet for a few moments, before nodding her head, lucas rolled his eyes as he placed his food back in the bag and they all rushed out to penelope’s car to head over to the crime scene where they’ll set up a sort of pop up station, jj’s husband, will was already on the scene, apparently it was a group of bank robbers called the face cards. as they were trying to leave the scene before getting caught, will and his partner arrived first which ended up having will’s partner getting shot in the head. everyone was quick to arrive to the scene, lucas couldn’t jj’s head space right now, because there could’ve been a possibility that will could’ve been injured or worse. 

lucas slightly glanced over at spencer before focusing back onto hotch and the team, maybe he did have an idea.

  
  


the face cards have so far done seven bank robberies, their m.o. was a single gunshot wound and each of those victims would bleed out. 

“why are we just hearing about this?” asked lucas

“headquarters has always characterized them robbers first and killers second” hotch replied. rossi asked then why were they here all of a sudden, hotch replied because of the fact the crisis negotiation was overseas. 

  
  


garcia was already in place, front of a computer, so far they weren’t able to ID any of the three face cards members, because cameras would be off till they put their mask on, which was right now. 

hotch began giving orders to each one of the members, placing lucas with morgan to talk with MPD, as everyone headed out strauss came walking in, lucas glared at her lightly before heading off with morgan. 

  
  


“how are you feeling?” morgan asked as they made their way to will, lucas realized this was his first official mission back on the field, he wasn’t sure what to say or maybe he just didn’t want to say anything because he didn’t want to talk about it right now, so instead he tells morgan that they should get through the case first.

  
  


“we gotta be safe about what we do, wrong move, someone else can get hurt” lucas said towards will and morgan, at the moment, there was no movement or phone call, the MPD didn’t want to make a move that could cause another hostage to get killed. none of them were sure why out of all the robberies, the face cards got caught. 

rossi had sent in a medic due to strauss’ orders to help save one of the face cards that was shot by will in defense, but it turned out the brother of one of the members caught on to what was happening and shot the medic dead. 

morgan, will and lucas were with rossi and hotch now, trying to figure out from the victimology group to see why the face cards were caught when they were considered the best and never were caught in the past. garcia was able to trace the 911 text message that was sent out from a larry phillips jr. 

“that name sounds vaguely familiar” will said

“wasn’t he one of the gunmen from the 1997 hollywood shootout?” lucas asked. garcia responded back that the text was sent minutes before the shooting started which meant that one of the robbers was the one who sent the message. rossi went ahead and made a call to try and get one of the robbers to try and go against the one woman, because it was a possibility she was conspiring against them. 

it didn’t end well, the robber ended up believing his team member but asked for will to come into the bank, for shooting his brother, which of course, jj was not going to allow whatsoever, and neither did any other of the team. 

“lucas, what do you think?” lucas hears jj’s voice enter his ears causing him to look up and see that they were facing him. 

“it’s too risky, we sent in a medic and look what happened, i know you feel responsible for those who got hurt, but i promise you going in there and risking your life when you got henry and jj, we can’t send you, will, i’m sorry” lucas said receiving a warm look from jj. 

rossi called again, everyone else watched from the camera to see that he shot another hostage, when emily came in, she announced that the robber is willing to shoot more hostages if will doesn’t go in anytime soon. 

hotch responded that they were going to go into stop the shootings, but lucas can tell that hotch possible said that so jj doesn’t believe will was actually going to be the one to go in like the robber is asking. 

as they were getting ready to go in, lucas notices will making his way to the entrance, as soon as he notices jj looking at will, he grabs hold of her before she tries to stop him. 

“lucas, let me go! let me go! will! will!” jj cried out, lucas hated doing this to jj, he knew that feeling, and he experienced the feeling but it seemed like there was nothing else they could do. once jj was not fighting back, lucas let go of her, it was quiet for a few moments before gunshots were heard and jj was determined to go in there to save will. 

“jj, no!”

“lucas, you have to understand where i’m coming from!” 

“...i do, but we can’t risk anything more” 

  
  


the cameras had gone dead according to garcia, there was a possibility of will being alive due to the fact he had his vest on but jj was so nervous about whether will was alive or not. 

“why didn’t you let me go in?” jj asked looking at lucas

“i’m not gonna risk your life, will wouldn't want that!” lucas rebuttal 

“i thought you out of all people would understand! you lost liam i don’t wanna lose will” jj snapped, before feeling suddenly bad for what she said, everyone looked towards lucas who just nodded his head before replying: “i know i did, and i will have to live with that for the rest of my life, but i’m not losing you either, jennifer, and i know damn well, will is in there alive and fighting for his life” 

  
  


hotch announced that they were going to go in.

  
  
  


the team was starting to close in, they notice movement coming out of the door and saw the hostages, which now concerned lucas, wondering where was will and why were the hostages released without any warning or anything. the team decided to move forward to see if the face cards were there along with will, just as they were closing in, something goes off to case the bank to explode. 

lucas hits against the pavement, his ear receiving a high pitch ringing, there’s glass around him, trying to slowly get up without injuring himself. suddenly lucas realizes that emily isn’t nowhere to be found, he starts yelling out her name, his head still pounding from the hit. 

“emily! emily!” lucas said running inside the bank, to see morgan and jj 

“you haven’t seen emily?” morgan asked

“i thought she was with you” lucas said, they continued to call out emily’s and will’s name and they were able to find the team member. lucas rushed over to check if she’s alright, emily confirmed that she was fine but she was with an elderly couple not wanting to leave their side, the husband was unconscious so it was going to be difficult. 

the wife shared that she wanted to stay by his side, morgan and jj were going to continue on, lucas shared that he’ll stay with emily and the couple. 

“he’s my story, i can’t leave him” said the wife

“ma’am, i promise you that we will get help for both of you,” lucas assured. 

  
  


spencer arrived at the scene to see the commotion going on, he rushed over to hotch, as much as he wanted to ask penelope about lucas, he decided it would be best to put his worries aside for a minute.

once the couple was able to get out, emily and lucas headed back to garcia to lucas’ surprise he found spencer, having his heart filled with joy. 

“spence!” 

lucas hugged tightly before pulling away, spencer asked if lucas was fine, and all the agent could say was that he was alright, that his head hurt a bit but overall he was fine. spencer and lucas just stared at one another for a few moments before lucas realized what they were doing and pulled away quickly. 

  
  


there was footage of the two remaining face cards leaving the bank in a SUV, but no sign of will; lucas pointed out that it seemed like the woman was placing the gun towards someone in the back, which could indicate that it was will. 

strauss came in sharing that they had blocked some of the roads to stop the unsubs from leaving. 

“wait, so we’re looking for a black SUV with its sirens on? that’s gonna stand out” kevin spoke out

“wait, kevin’s here?” lucas whispered to spencer who replied that he was helping them at the BAU while penelope was here with the team which caused lucas to nod and understand. jj and morgan enter sharing that she found will’s wallet. 

“what’s the endgame to this though? where are they heading?” lucas asked after morgan and emily suggested that they were most likely heading to a safe house to find someone else, rossi believes it could be about creating panic. 

it was going to be hard to find them if they weren’t on anyone’s list, even though there was a possibility that the queen of the face cards was homegrown as well, with her going all around different countries just to be in washington. 

  
  


“hey, how you doing?” lucas asked jj, she was probably worried out of her head about will and his safety, so all she could do was nod, not knowing what else to. 

emily returned back from her call sharing that someone named lady x stole a sedan from scotland yard, eight years ago, the case concluded that she was possible a trained assassin but she disappeared. 

“so it’s possible that lady x and the queen of diamonds are the same person?” asked rossi, emily nodded her head before hotch told penelope to search for assassination attempts around civil upset in chad. 

“she’s probably taking her orders from someone else,” spencer shared. 

lucas believed that perhaps the other person she’s been working with is her equal, someone who thinks like her, and it could’ve been planned for a while just for this moment. the team was unsure where they would attack next. 

  
  
  


penelope and kevin were able to try and flag someone down, one of the hostages, who was pointed out to seem not even remotely scared of the situation that happened, that he didn’t even flinch. according to penelope’s finding, his name was matthew down, he was in fact an ex-military and had a dishonorable discharge from USMC in 2004. 

“so it's possible that he’s the guy that the queen of diamonds is working with?” lucas asked, emily decided to lead off of what lucas said and had penelope look at the footage again, showing how matthew and queen of diamonds looked at one another. 

“it’s all part of their plan,” morgan responded. 

  
  


lucas, rossi and jj headed out to try to see if they can find matthew downs and or the queen of diamonds, as they were on the phone with the rest of the team discussing how will could’ve missed matthew being the partner, jj discovers that will’s license is gone and the unsubs know where they live. 

as they continued driving, lucas noticed the quietness from jj, of course she was worried out of her mind, this was her son that was in danger, her husband. rossi shared that jj couldn’t blame herself for what happened, but jj insisted that she was a mother first, she should’ve not left henry today. 

“jj, we can’t control things that happen, especially today, you can’t put this much blame on yourself,” lucas said from the back seat and then wondered if he should take his own advice. jj looked at lucas towards the mirror, giving him a sympathetic look and lucas returning one. 

  
  


arriving at jj’s home, they parked a bit far but not too far from jj’s home observing it, to see that jj’s neighbor, kate was not with henry at all and since she didn’t have her cellphone on her, she wasn’t answering. 

jj was ready to go in and save her son, believing that one of the unsubs possible had henry, rossi shared they needed a distraction just in case anything could cause the unsub to believe they were here. so they proceed with caution, rossi decided to go up to kate and tell her what was going on and for her to remain calm and let him be seen by the unsub (whomever was in there) as if he was the grandfather or someone. 

“lucas, i need to go in alone,” 

“but, jj-” 

“lucas, please i can’t risk the chances of henry getting harmed” 

lucas finally nodded before telling jj that minute he hears commotion or something, he was coming in no question asked, jj nodded as she proceeded in quietly. the idea of letting jj in alone worried him, but maybe she was right, one wrong move from either of them, henry could get hurt. 

not a few moments later, lucas heard ruckus, it was a possibility that jj had found the unsub, when he heard jj’s shout to henry, lucas couldn’t help but get in there to help her. just as lucas was about to rush in, he noticed rossi coming along. lucas nudged his head towards the door as they both entered as quietly as possible, once they found where the noise was happening, the queen of diamonds was out on the ground. 

“are you guys okay?” lucas asked, looking towards jj who was holding on to henry, and that answered his question. 

  
  


as soon as they got a call from the team that downs was shot down, and will was being taken to the hospital, they went ahead to go meet him. once there, jj found where will’s room was, she left henry for a few moments with rossi and lucas. 

“they’re all back together” lucas said letting out a small laugh 

“how are you holding up?” rossi asked, lucas looked over at him asking what he meant, earning a eye roll from rossi, who elaborated that this was his first case since the kidnapping and losing liam. lucas looked at the ground before looking at rossi and sharing that it’s been a lot, he’s trying to heal from what happened. 

rossi went ahead and stand by the door with henry, he must’ve heard something from jj and will because he decided to make a phone call. 

once ready, rossi brought henry in, lucas stood by rossi at the door before will called them into the room. 

“how you doing, champ” lucas asked lightly patting will on the shoulder, will said that he was doing alright and that he was glad that he was with his family again.

lucas was headinging out, before rossi pulled him aside. 

“are you free tomorrow night?” 

“yeah...why?” 

“for jj and will’s wedding” 

lucas furrowed his eyebrow before he realized why rossi was on the phone, before saying that if rossi ever wanted to pay for his wedding, rossi should go ahead. earning a laugh from rossi saying: “don’t get your hopes up, kid” 

  
  
  


the following evening, lucas was finishing up getting ready when he heard the door knocked on, lucas headed over and opened the door to see spencer all dressed up for the wedding, lucas smiled eagerly at him before telling him he cleans up nice. 

“thanks, i didn’t get a chance to see you after the case yesterday, how’s jj and her family?”

“all well and together” 

“and you?” 

“i’m managing, let’s go to the wedding, come on, it’s at rossi’s house!” lucas said, before rushing spencer down the stairs to head out. 

when they arrived, lucas looked at rossi’s house in awe, spencer looked back at lucas smiling at him from ear to ear. the pair headed inside, as they were making their way to the backyard, lucas noticed emily and derek talking in a secluded area. 

“hey, what’s going on over here?” lucas asked making his way to them, derek glanced over to emily who couldn’t meet lucas’ eyes at the moment, lucas then proceeded to ask emily if everything was alright. 

“i’m thinking of going back to the interpol, i’ve been thinking about this since i got back and it’s not because i hate you guys, i love you, you’re my family but i just i can’t” 

“so, when you leave, it’s fine but when i was thinking of leaving the BAU, i can’t, what was the point of you coming back if you’re just going to leave again!” lucas snapped before regretting it quickly, derek was surprised by lucas’ tone and the news that lucas was considering leaving. 

emily let her head down, she felt bad, lucas didn’t want emily to leave like this, with him yelling at her, he was just tired of people leaving him. lucas slowly made his way over to emily and hugged her tightly before apologizing for his outburst, emily hugged back saying that she would do anything to stay here with him and the team but she can’t just keep pretending. 

“promise me that you’ll at least stay in contact this time? even if it’s by email” lucas said, emily nodded before wiping away lucas’ tears. emily was lucas’ best friend, when she ‘died’ it hurt his heart, she was the first person that he grew a connection with at the BAU and seeing her leave was the hardest thing to do. 

“okay, enough tears, let’s party” lucas before patting derek’s back and heading to the backyard. even if he was an ounce of sad, he couldn’t show it right now, not at jj’s wedding. when lucas stepped into the backyard, he noticed spencer standing nearby a tree, lucas was about to approach him when lucas noticed the chocolate fountain, shuffling over to the fountain to then find derek, jack and beth. 

“lucas! hi!” beth said greeting him, lucas replied if they were here for the chocolate fountain as well. beth replied that they were here for the fountain, just as lucas was about to respond to beth when penelope nearly tackled him. 

“what?” 

“kevin is here!” penelope shaking lucas, who tried to stop penelope from shaking him, he noticed jj and her family arriving in the backyard, they approached rossi, possibly telling her about what the plan was, because then lucas saw jj’s mom approach. lucas suddenly felt a presence near him and look to his right to see spencer the pair shared a smile before lucas shared how spencer was doing. 

“i could ask you the same” 

“i’m fine, but then this one tackled me” lucas said, gesturing over penelope, before announcing his mission for tonight was to get drunk, which he quickly regretted saying out loud knowing jack was close by before giving an apology look towards beth. 

“i hope you learn to speak carefully around my own kids,” derek said jokingly, lucas rolled his eyes before asking himself who he came with, and then suddenly remembering that he arrived with spencer and told him that it was his job to take him home. spencer let out a laugh before nodding his head as a promise. 

the ceremony was starting up soon, as people were starting to go into their place to view the ceremony, lucas notice how happy everyone is, and whenever he glanced over to someone from the team, he couldn’t help but feel bittersweet, considering that emily was leaving but this was also jj’s night. lucas looked over to see spencer with henry, probably showing him a magic trick, which caused lucas to laugh.

  
  


just as jj was walking down the supposed aisle, lucas couldn’t help but cry, well he tried not to, so instead smile thinking it would stop the tears but it didn’t. emily patted his back lightly which caused him to laugh slightly. 

soon, dinner started, they all sat around, talking a bit, rossi gave a speech for jj and will, and as soon as everyone was done, the music started. lucas had finished up a drink when he noticed emily walking around everyone before he approached her. 

“hey, wanna dance?” lucas said in the most cockiest voice ever, causing both emily and him to burst out laughing but emily eventually nodded. 

“wow, lucas i’m surprised that you know how to dance” 

“obviously, have i not mentioned in the three years i told dance class at school, they taught me how to dance,” lucas said, which earned him a weird look from emily who asked if it was true, which lucas nodded proudly that it was indeed true. 

after a few moments, spencer approached them asking if he can cut in, lucas nodded before emily hugged lucas tightly and whispered in his ear: “i promise i’ll keep in contact”

“if you don't, i’m hunting you down,” lucas joked. 

  
  


lucas was sure what time it was but he was drinking water now, courtesy of hotch, spencer approached him asking how he was doing, lucas responded that he thinks he’s ready to head on home. 

“i was afraid you say that,”

“why?” 

“i was wondering, if before we go, you wanna have at least one dance,” spencer said. 

lucas was convinced that spencer was joking around, but he didn't notice this when he saw spencer extending his hand towards lucas. the young agent responded that he wasn't to not hold hands. spencer shared that he danced with emily notight in case lucas forgot.

“fine, one dance, but then we’re out, i'm tired,” lucas said as spencer dragged him onto the dance floor. 

  
  


at some point, it was time for them to leave, lucas did his rounds of saying goodbye, he wished jj and will the best for their marriages. when lucas found emily, he hugged her once more, it’s as if he couldn’t stop hugging her over and over again. 

  
  


spencer finally drove lucas home, when they arrived the pair headed up the stairs before lucas thanked spencer for driving him home. 

“of course, anything for you” 

“i should get some sleep, do you wanna spend the night in the guest room? it’s late” 

spencer wanted to say no but nodded, knowing it was in fact late. lucas wished spencer good night before heading off to his room; spencer watched as lucas headed to his bed, feeling nothing but happiness before heading to the guest room. 

  
  
  



	38. 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> lucas returns from liam's funeral in michigan, when he comes back he meets the new addition to the BAU, alex blake, but instead of going on the first case back and getting to know blake, he gets set home to rest for the remainder of the time.

“thank you for coming, lucas, really” 

“are you sure you don’t need me to stay or need anything?” lucas asked liam’s mom, he had come to michigan for liam’s funeral, and liam’s dog was now back home which lucas was happy about. throughout the whole trip, liam’ mom had let him stay at their house, and was so patient with him while lucas kept apologizing and trying to make things more easier for liam’s mom. 

however, although she was in pain of losing her oldest son, she also knew that liam had a good heart and died fighting for not only his life but lucas’ life as well. 

“please, don’t overthink this, i don’t blame you for any of this, i promise you, bless his soul, he’s up in heaven watching down over us, he wouldn’t want you to constantly think it was your fault or what you should’ve done” lucas tried not to cry see how much liam’s mom was so nice, he once more said his goodbyes before leaving to the airport. 

  
  
  


arriving back to virginia, he realized that he had work to go to and there was no break if there was a case. as lucas began heading into the building, he saw his friends standing near the bullpen door. 

“lucas!” jj explained, lucas let out a smile before being pulled into a hug by the blonde agent, he was then greeted by derek, spencer and penelope (who was doing a british accent) 

“how was england? how’s emily?” lucas said missing his friend, emily had taken a position back at her old job which was the interpol, derek shared emily was settling in okay before proceeding on talking about his time over in london; he hardly had any time off with his temporary duty while penelope was more living in the tourist life. before lucas can thank penelope for sending him the london merch of a water bottle, he was interrupted by the technical analyst 

“how was michigan?” 

“it was cool, i mean not cool but i don’t know, liam’s mom was really nice, she makes me wish she was my mom but yeah, all his family came to the funeral, they buried him next to his dad...a lot of emotion, please change the subject quickly!” lucas said abruptly as spencer reached out and rubbed his back. 

penelope asked if lucas knew about the new person working with them, which caused lucas to shake his head because jj and spencer only gave him so much that it was practically nothing, before asking penelope why she was asking. 

“because, she has a PhD and she was recruited by the FBI at 24, and she’s like this genius and i don’t know if she’s nice!” 

“spencer’s a genius” lucas pointed out 

“yeah, but spencer’s different, i know spencer, i don’t know this alex blake, like jj and spencer say she’s nice but is she really nice?” penelope said, lucas noticed someone coming up from behind penelope causing lucas to step back thinking that it was perhaps alex blake. penelope realized everyone was going backwards before asking if this was like in the movies where you’re talking about someone and they come from behind, everyone nodded and penelope turned around to face alex. 

“the origin of ‘nice’ is 12th century middle english, meaning foolish or stupid. i hope you're referring to the modern use of the adjective” alex said, lucas glanced over at the others before focusing back on penelope and alex. 

“you must be penelope, i’m alex blake”

“it’s very nice to meet you and i mean that in the nicest way possible” penelope said, derek stepped in and introduced himself, lucas did the same before asking if the seattle case went well. 

just as they were making small talk, rossi walked in telling them not to unpack. 

“i just came back from a funeral, please,” lucas mumbled as they started making their way up the stairs to the round room. there was already a new case with a new team member and all lucas wanted was to rest but that didn’t seem like it was happening anytime soon. as soon they all stepped into the round room, lucas claimed this was homophobic of them having lucas work on this case. 

hotch gave him a confused look before lucas shook his head, mumbling that it was a joke before sitting down and focusing on the case which involved the famous silencer. there was an accident with the silencer being taken to emergency care when the ambulance got into a car accident, the EMT and prisoner in the ambulance were killed, there was a photograph of him leaving with an EMT uniform. 

“do we have an ID on him?” lucas asked, hotch responded that when the silencer was placed in prison, there was no ID or anything, he was a john doe. never once said a word, which could relate to something the silencer had experienced during his childhood. 

“wheels up at twenty” hotch said. 

“i wanna be unit chief one day just to say those words” lucas mumbled under his breath as they started to leave, lucas noticed blake was held back by strauss not wondering why, so he brushed it off. 

“is she nice?” penelope asked approaching lucas as they all were heading out to the plane, lucas nodded his head, he really wasn’t sure if he should attend his case, he did just come back from michigan being at a funeral but he wanted to go ahead and do it to get his mind off michigan. 

“lucas” he heard hotch’s voice from behind causing him to stop and turn around and face the unit chief asking him if everything was alright. 

“i was thinking that it’s best if you stay back for this case, because you just got back from michigan, but i think it’s best for you to take this one off” lucas wanted to object but instead just listen and nodded his head before hotch walked past him and towards the elevator with the others, leaving lucas in the dust. for once he didn’t want to be held back because something traumatic happened to him but what can he do? 

  
  


the others notice lucas not coming along side hotch and asked if everything was alright, hotch shared that lucas was going to take the case off due to his trip in michigan, spencer can tell from afar how much lucas rather be on the case than stuck at his apartment. 

as soon as the elevator closed, lucas started making his way to the elevator before he heard his name called out again. he turned around to face strauss, lucas responded that he wasn’t in a mood to talk to strauss right now. so instead, strauss responded that when the team gets back, she wants lucas to come back as well so lucas and her can have a conversation. 

  
  


lucas arrived back at his apartment, he remembered that robin was left with amanda, so soon after he finished cleaning up his and setting his things down, he would go to amanda’s place to see robin and maybe hang around a bit.

  
  


arriving at amanda’s place, lucas knocked on her door having the woman open that door and smile widely seeing lucas before inviting him into the apartment. 

“when did you get back?” 

“today, i was going to go on a case, but my unit chief said i should rest for this one” 

“do you wanna talk about michigan?” amanda asked as lucas approached his cat, petting robin; the young agent shook his head saying at the moment he didn’t want to talk about his time in michigan. amanda nodded her head, she had to respect that, so amanda asked about the case that lucas was exempted from 

“it had something to do with someone called the silencer, and plus we have a new team member because as you know, emily left” 

“are they cool?” 

“she seems cool” 

amanda nodded her head before finally suggesting for them to go out to eat, and added how lucas can come back for robin on their way back to her apartment. lucas nodded slowly before petting robin once more and followed amanda out of the apartment. 

  
  


they had arrived at a bookstore, where lucas looked around the store, probably picked out a few books to take home with him, some of them were ones that spencer had recommended to him a few times. once done, lucas took them to the register and paid for his books while amanda paid for a book at another register, they left the bookstore and headed down the sidewalk observing the stores, and the people, it was nice to have a breather after the couple of weeks in michigan. amanda suggested they can get lunch at the sandwich place they headed to a few months back. 

“the one with the good chicken parm sandwich?” 

“yes!” 

“i love that place, i’ve been meaning to take spencer there but with all the cases, me going to michigan, him in seattle with on another case” 

amanda smiled before lucas phone started to ring, causing both of them to stop 

**_“hello?”_ **

**_“hey, lucas just wanted to check up on you”_ ** it was spencer 

**_“hey, thank you, i’m good i’m here with amanda and we just went to the bookstore and i found some of the books you recommended”_ **

**_“i hope you enjoy them, i’m sorry you couldn’t join the case”_ **

**_“yeah, i’m starting to get tired of me constantly getting rest, but what can i do”_ **

spencer and lucas chatted for a few moments before finally finishing the conversation and hanging up on each other so spencer can continue the case. 

“how’s emily settling in london, i forgot to ask”    
“she loves it! i miss her a lot, but whatever makes her happy, however apparently we are getting tea of the month so, that is exciting” 

“now, every time you drink, you’ll think of her” 

  
  


the pair finally arrived at the sandwich shop and ordered other sandwiches they wanted to try the next time they came (which was now). 

“i hate not being on cases” lucas said before mumbling a quick apology before amanda shared that it was fine, that lucas didn’t have to apologize to her whatsoever, before lucas shared that he believed that the more time he goes on a rest, he feels closer wanting to leave the BAU, but at the same time he doesn't want to leave the BAU. 

  
  
  


the evening came around, lucas stopped by amanda’s place and got robin before wishing amanda goodbye and leaving to his apartment to finally head to sleep. 

  
  
  


the following day, lucas was called into strauss’ office, even though he believed that he would be called in when the team came back, when he walked into the BAU floor, he wished he can stopped by garcia’s small corner before going to strauss but he was stopped because strauss was waiting outside the elevator for him. 

“cortez, thank you for coming in” 

lucas nodded as strauss lead him to her office, when they entered and closed the door behind them, lucas asked if they skip the small talk and tell lucas why he was here for a meeting with strauss.

“i’ve been thinking that maybe you should resign from your position from the BAU?” 

“i’m sorry?” 

“lucas, i don’t know if you can tell, but you’ve been on many rest, you didn’t even go on the case today, and i can’t blame that on hotch, i believe that maybe you’re not stable enough to continue your position at the BAU” 

lucas face dropped, he knew that he was reconsidering it for similar reasons, but believed he was doing better, hearing this from strauss may have been his eye-opener and not because it was coming from strauss but because he did enjoy his time at the BAU and he didn’t want to leave the team, they were his family. 

“with all due respect, strauss, but i think i’m able to do my job here at the BAU, did i have some doubts within myself after what happened to me and my late boyfriend, yes but i belong on this team just as much as anyone else, i can do great on this team.” 

strauss examined lucas before letting out a sigh, saying that if that’s what lucas truly believes, there’s nothing that she can do to change his mind, considering the many times lucas and strauss went head to head. 

lucas nodded before thanking strauss and leaving the room, it was probably the quickest meeting he had with her, maybe he should continue to be straightforward. before leaving, lucas stopped by to see garcia and ask how the team was doing. 

it was eleven at night, when lucas got a knock on the door, he walked over and opened it to reveal spencer smiling back at lucas. 

“hey, welcome back!” lucas said smiling before letting him in, spencer nodded his head, letting him into lucas’ apartment. spencer responded he’s sorry once more lucas didn’t get to go on the case, the young agent asked if they caught the unsub. spencer shared that they figured out (mainly blake) that the silencer was deaf, and was taunted his whole life especially by his mom for being deaf and the way he talked. blake signed with him, trying to stop him from harming himself but the silencer ended up killing himself. 

lucas frowned, before heating up some water for him and spencer. 

the duo drank some tea before lucas asked: “i’m surprised you drink tea, because of all the coffee you drink”

“i only drink tea with you, because you don’t offer coffee” 

“you can tell me that you want coffee…” 

spencer shared it became sort of their thing for lucas to make them tea and just sit with robin before spencer goes home or ends up staying the night. lucas got silent, thinking back to liam, and to michigan before feeling a hand on his shoulder causing him to silently jump at the touch. 

“you okay?”   
“yeah, thank you for being here” 

sam let out a small smile before assuring lucas he’ll always be here for him. 


	39. 𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞'𝐬

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> penelope wants to have a dinner get together for alex being the new team member especially after what happened when alex first got to the BAU. lucas ends up getting emotionally exhausted with everything going on, having him get irritated at every little thing. spencer comes to the rescue ! (sort of)

it was a slow day at the BAU office today, lucas was looking over the paperwork when penelope approached him. 

“oh good, you’re here” she breathed out as she got closer. 

“i really have to work, garcia” lucas mumbled just wanting to have his paperwork finished and didn’t mean to be mean but he just wanted it to be done. but penelope insisted on talking to him. so lucas listened to what penelope was talking about. 

“okay, so as you know we have a new member to the team, and i made a terrible impression, which i feel bad about but i thought maybe, just maybe we can have a team family dinner” 

“at rossi’s?” lucas asked look

“if he says yes, if not then i’m going to find a way to smush all of you to my kitchen” 

lucas was going to regret saying this but then suggested: “why don’t we have it at my place” penelope’s full attention was on lucas now, who smiled eagerly but his eyes read worried. penelope smiled eagerly, hugging lucas tightly before rushing off to inform the other team members about tonight. 

  
  


it was lunch time, lucas was about to go ahead and eat his egg salad sandwich before hotch approached him, lucas looked up before hotch said: “meet me in my office” lucas nodded his head as hotch headed to his office before lucas. 

  
  


when lucas got into the office, lucas asked hotch if everything was okay. the reason hotch had called lucas into the office was because strauss informed hotch about her conversation with lucas earlier last week. lucas let out a sigh, he just wanted to eat his lunch. 

“hotch, i know she probably told you that she suggested it be best for me to leave, and i’ve thought of that idea myself but i also realize once strauss talked to me, i don’t wanna leave this place, i love being here and i love this team, you guys are like my family, dare i say, and plus i don’t think the team can afford another team lost” lucas said. hotch nodded his head, he didn’t want lucas to leave either, just as emily, lucas has been a great addition to the team, and wouldn’t want him to leave either. 

“i just wanted to check in with you, to see where your head was” 

lucas nodded his head, thanking hotch before leaving but was stopped again by hotch: “if you do have second thoughts you’ll come to me first, correct?” lucas nodded as a response before finally leaving the office. as he went down to eat his sandwich, lucas realized how thirsty he was, but lucas also realized that he wanted to finish lunch and then finish his paperwork. 

“i hate my life,” lucas mumbled, before sitting down at his desk with no drink, and let out a sigh. 

“you okay?” it was spencer, lucas gave him a small smile before saying that he was thirsty but he wanted to finish his sandwich and continue on with the paperwork. spencer offered to get lucas something to drink because he was about to go on his lunch break. 

“spencer, thank you, i will forever be in your debt,” spencer nodded his head before heading off to get his lunch. lucas took a deep breath, he felt slightly annoyed, but brushed it off as he continued on eating his sandwich. 

when spencer returned, he handed lucas his drink, derek decided to poke fun at them for a moment. 

“is your waiter, pretty boy now? how cute” 

“shut up morgan, you’re so fucking annoying” lucas said loud enough for everyone to hear, derek was taken back by lucas’ comment, he was hardly ever mean to anyone and even if derek was making teasing comments, lucas was play along. jj shared a look with derek shrugging her shoulders unsure why lucas snapped like that. 

“did i say something wrong?” 

lucas didn’t answer but he seemed frustrated. everyone decided to brush it off, hoping that lucas was just tired. 

  
  


throughout the day, spencer noticed that lucas’ mood changed entirely, he seemed very annoyed and irritated by every little thing. at some point. lucas’ pen stopped working, and lucas practically chucked it at anderson. at the coffee station, lucas was waiting behind spencer to get a cup, he could sense the tension from lucas. 

when spencer stepped away, he noticed how irritated lucas more and more. 

  
  


it was about 4:30pm, lucas was done around 4:20 but he got up and left his stuff on his desk, spencer decided to go ahead and find him. the one place spencer didn’t think of was the bathroom, he entered, and heard soft sobs. 

“lucas?” 

the sobs stopped, and the door stall lock turned and the person who came out was lucas, he seemed like he was crying, which would make sense to the sob noises. spencer asked if everything was going alright, lucas rubbed his eyes before sharing he was just a bit stressed, he just believed that his anxiety and stress were taking over him. 

“we can reschedule the dinner today, for another day if you want,” spencer said, walking over to lucas who was harshly washing his hands over and over again before washing his face and drying his hands. lucas finally answered by shaking his head saying that he wanted to do the dinner tonight. 

“you’re emotionally exhausted” spencer said, lucas didn’t say much, before saying to spencer that he was finishing up with his paperwork so he can get home and take a nap before dinner tonight. spencer watched as lucas walked away going back to his desk, spencer wanted to find ease for lucas but wasn’t sure what to do till an idea came to his head. 

once lucas finished up his paperwork, he headed off back to his apartment to get some rest before the dinner he would have at his apartment, he kind of regretted suggesting the idea to penelope but he also didn’t want penelope’s plans ruined. 

when lucas finally arrived at his apartment, he walked over to his couch and just flopped on top of it, soon hearing robin’s meow before he heard robin’s footprints near him and finally laying down. 

  
  
  


when lucas woke up, he looked at his watch. it was 7:30pm, he gasped loudly, the team would arrive soon to his apartment and he wasn’t even ready, he was rushing around before he heard his phone rang; lucas saw it was spencer and quickly answered. 

“spencer, hi, i’m kind of busy” 

“open you’re door, i’m here” spencer replied quickly, lucas hesitated before walking over to the door and opening it to reveal spencer. lucas hung up the phone and asked spencer what he was doing here, the genius boy answered that he had everyone come to his apartment instead because of everything that happened today to lucas. the young man smiled at spencer before pulling him into a tight hug and thanking him. 

“we have to hurry, i kind of left everyone back at my apartment” lucas nodded before shuffling quickly out the door and telling robin good bye before leaving. 

when they arrived at spencer’s apartment, where everyone was already there, enjoying themselves. lucas whispered how spencer trust them to stay here while he got lucas. 

“i trust them, don’t you?” 

“i do” lucas said smiling. 

  
  


everyone was waiting for rossi to finish up with dinner, lucas was pouring his second glass of wine, when alex approached him. 

“he really cares about you, huh?” lucas looked at alex before glancing back at spencer who was chatting with derek and jj

“he’s sweet, he tends to worry about me, i tend to worry about him constantly” lucas said letting out a small laugh 

“you two make a perfect couple” 

lucas looked at alex before letting out a small laugh, which earned him a confused look from alex, before lucas quickly apologized for his laugh but explained to alex that spencer and him were not a couple, that they were just friends. alex quickly apologized for her assumptions about spencer and lucas, which lucas once again shared that it was completely fine and not to worry about. 

“can you give me a second, i need to go speak with derek” lucas said smiling, alex nodded before lucas walked off and asked derek if they could talk privately, to which derek nodded. 

  
  


“i wanna apologize for my reaction earlier today, it was so out of line, and you’re not annoying, derek, i promise and i wasn’t really in a good mood today but that doesn’t justify anything” 

“kid, it’s fine, don’t worry about it i understand, really” 

“can, i hug you now? i never had because i’m terrified you’ll crush me” 

derek laughed before pulling lucas into a hug, which lucas did not get crushed from. 

  
  


once the food was ready, everyone gathered around to begin eating, rossi took away lucas’ glass because it would’ve been his fourth glass of wine. they all had fun, and alex was starting to feel part of the team, which was penelope’s goal and she was glad that she passed it, because that’s all she wanted was for alex to fell part of the team. 

“to new members” penelope said

“new members” everyone else echoed out

after everyone finished up for the night, they all collectively decided to go home, lucas wished them all goodbye as they began piling out. lucas stayed back a bit to gather his belongings, spencer waited by the door. 

“you don’t have to take me home, spence” 

“it’s late, i don’t want you to be out there alone” 

“that’s sweet” lucas said, letting out a small laugh before they headed out. 

  
  


spencer dropped off lucas at his home; lucas suggested for spencer not to come down because he wanted spencer to get home as soon as possible. the young agent told spencer to have a good night before leaving upstairs to his apartment. 

  
  


when lucas finally got upstairs, he kicked up his shoes and jacket before going to his bathroom, with robin following close by, the young man, kicked off his shoes and changed into his pjs before finally turning off the lights and getting into bed, robin jumped on the bed and laid down towards the foot of the bed causing lucas to smiling eagerly before siding off to sleep. 

  
  


spencer got back to his apartment, he sort of felt torn between his feelings for lucas and his feelings for maeve, this doctor he’s been talking to on sundays. but it was something he shouldn’t think so much of right? 

  
  
  
  
  



	40. 𝐠𝐨𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐱

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the team takes a case in new mexico, during the case reid tends to act a bit squirrely

“don’t you look happy, and sleepy at the same time, how does that even work?” lucas asked, noticing spencer enter the bullpen with a grin on his face; spencer revealed that he wasn’t sure what lucas was talking about. the young agent gave spencer a confused look before asking if spencer was having a good day. 

“i am so far, thank you” 

lucas gave him a soft smile before hotch called everyone to the round room. 

“where is carmen sandiego today?” lucas asked referring to the tv show  _ Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego  _

“alberquerque” penelope announced turning on the board, there was cases on corpse being found with amputee leg. lucas suggested that perhaps it was a surgeon who was working on these corpse but unsure way. morgan added that it could perhaps be a surgeon who was an amauter 

“went to med school or didn’t, barely is a surgeon” alex stated. 

hotch announced that it was wheels up at thirty, lucas got up and headed out, following the others closely behind to head out to the jet soon. although, lucas went on several cases since he came back to quantico, as soon as he got his to-go bag, he noticed spencer at his desk, thinking about something. 

“hey, ready to go?” 

“yeah, i’m good, let's go” spencer said as they both headed out to the jet. lucas noticed that spencer actually seemed in a better mood, and he was really happy for spencer. 

  
  


hotch had assigned everyone what to do once they landed in new mexico; lucas, jj and reid were off to the morgue to examine the body. what they know so far is that the leg was cut by someone possibly passing as a doctor or is a doctor. 

arriving at the morgue both reid and jj asked about the body and how was the body found, when was the leg cut, post-mortem? according to the doctor that was working there, they explained how the leg was cut while the victim was still awake. 

after a while, the doctor left them to examine the body on their own and left them know if they had any questions. 

“kind of weird of the unsub to just drop the body near here” lucas said as he looks out the window with jj. reid however was more on the fact about the unsub’s M.O, because the victims 

had no connection or similarities to each other and it was two different amputations. 

“so give us the run down, doctor” jj said. 

“makes me wonder if reid is actually a doctor  _ doctor _ and not just the degree” lucas mumbled under his breath. 

reid shared that the way the unsub cut both victim’s legs were completely different, one was cut above the knee and another below, spencer had mentioned that the unsub knew what he was doing medically. 

“i thought on the jet, we ruled out that the unsub wasn’t a doctor” lucas brought up

“well, i said he wasn’t a surgeon, but he definitely has an idea around anatomy which here on the victim shows he has some sort of medical training,” reid answered. 

  
  


jj looked closer at the body to see there was a hole in the bone of the victim after being cut, she believed it was most likely drilled in by the unsub regardless of the doctor believing it was caused by an animal, however reid never saw any medical tool that can do something like that. 

  
  


the trio headed to the station to meet with the others, and announce what they found so far from the morgue, which reid was quick to deliver to the others. 

“he’s some sort of scientist, or as reid puts it, believes he’s one; using his victims as test subjects” lucas said. however, as the three went on delivering what they found, they shared they weren't a trigger or sensor which meant there wasn’t much to go off to profile the unsub. 

“we believe based off what he’s been testing out with the patients, he’s trying to find a new technique” lucas shared, which hotch question what it was and lucas added: “a way of reattaching the leg, how, we don’t know but he used something to create a hole into the bone of the victim” 

blake asked if there was a possibility that the unsub was performing transplants, which reid nodded before furthering on how it’s possible that the unsub wants to take someone else’s leg and put it onto someone else’s body, hence the experiments. 

  
  


as soon as they were done, one of the officers came into the room sharing they just got a call from the hospital that there was another victim. hotch had morgan and reid go check it out. 

“does it ever feel like a presentation to you when we deliver what we find” lucas said walking over to jj, who let out a stifle laugh.

  
  


as soon as morgan and reid returned examining the new victim, the team thought it was time to deliver the profile. 

  
  


once they were done with delivering the profile, lucas noticed reid rubbing his eyes aggressively, causing him to head over to the boy genius and ask if he was doing alright. reid just nodded his head assuring lucas that he was doing well and there was nothing to worry about, which lucas disagreed but nodded. 

  
  


hotch went ahead and called garcia to see if she can find anything on doctors and med students in the area, so far there was a lot of people who can fit the profile of their unsub. lucas had ended up going to a funeral home with blake and jj. 

on their way over to the building, lucas let out a small laugh catching jj’s attention who asked what was so funny to lucas. 

“it’s nothing really, it’s just at the dinner thing we had, blake assumed reid and i were a couple” lucas explained 

“well, don’t you or didn’t you have a crush on spencer” jj responded 

“yeah, but who’s gonna think we’re a couple?”    
“i mean if i was an outsider or newcomer, i would think you two were” jj said before walking ahead of lucas, who stayed back confused by jj’s comment. 

they went ahead and talked to the person in charge of the funeral home, realizing that a mortician would be more likely to reattach a leg rather than a surgeon, which helped their theory on a mortician being the unsub’s occupation where he learned the skills. 

blake believed that if he wasn’t a doctor or practice as one, it was most likely someone posing as a doctor to lure his victims.

  
  


in the night, blake, reid and morgan were called onto scene after discovering a woman’s body, in the same condition as the first two expect it was the first time seeing a woman, knowing that the unsub never had a victim who was a woman. 

lucas was examining the file before he got a call from his cell 

**_“hello?”_ **

**_“do you know what’s up with reid?”_ **

**_“now, why?”_ **

**_“he just called me to ask me about where to find the nearest payphone”_ **

lucas did find it odd that spencer was asking about payphones, before telling garcia that he’ll check up on reid once he gets here; garcia told lucas to let her know once he knows something and hung up. 

“everything alright?” asked hotch once lucas re-entered the room, the young agent nodded his head that it was just garcia being garcia. 

  
  
  


reid stood at the payphone and did what he usually did, call maeve’s number and then hang up waiting for her to call back, when suddenly he heard a vehicle pull up, and he doesn’t believe it was blake considering that she just dropped him off at the payphone. 

when reid turned around, it was indeed blake walking towards him confused about why she dropped him off at a payphone. 

“why’d you come back?” reid asked 

“don’t answer a question with a question” 

lucas once told reid that he would never be able to outsmart blake because lucas believed that both reid and blake were at the same intelligence level. here was one of those moments.

reid explained why he was at the phone, causing more confusion from blake but reid replied that he believes maeve could help them with the case. blake gave him a look before responding that there were five of the best minds back at the station. 

“i know but sometimes a different perspective helps me think better, ok?” 

“why are you being so ambiguous” 

“what do you mean?” 

“well you’re not using pronouns for your friend, like him or her, you’re avoiding to refer your friend” 

blake then added why she was the one to bring him, when reid couldn’t ask morgan, or jj, or even lucas. suddenly the phone began to rang, reid shared if they could talk about this later but blake just wanted reid to answer the question. 

“because i don’t want them to know about her, ok?” 

blake stayed quiet before reid added that it wasn’t anything bad, it was just personal for him. 

  
  


back at the station, the others were talking with garcia about the profile and to see if she can narrow down the unsub, hotch believes that the unsub had a sort of God complex. jj and rossi added input about how the unsub has some sort of perfection and that most amputees have a healthier psychology than the unsub themselves. 

“he’s probably doing this for someone, a spouse or child, someone he can ultimately heal by sacrificing the victims,” lucas answered. 

  
  


as soon as garcia was able to track down who the unsub was, she gave them the address; jj, morgan, reid and lucas headed to the unsub, doctor john nelson at his home. 

just as they arrived, they found nelson, and two women, one of them being held against nelson. 

reid told him to let go of the victim, but nelson was determined to go through with the experiment saying that he’s finally perfected it. however, the team kept shouting for him to drop the needle. 

the woman with red hair looked at nelson, which indicated that she was his spouse most likely. 

“i can fix you” nelson said 

“i never wanted to be fix” his spouse responded. 

reid lowered his gun and walked a bit closer to the unsub and his spouse before saying: “linda you are the one that he loves, you’re the only one who can convince him that what he’s doing is wrong” 

the other agents watched as linda tried talking to her husband out of what he was doing, she cried and pleaded for him to stop what he was doing. nelson just believed he was helping linda but he wasn’t, he was in fact not helping anyone. 

finally nelson let go of the needle, letting it drop; reid moved forward to pull the wife away knowing it would be a difficult moment for her while jj made the arrest. rossi went ahead and checked on the victim before lucas made the call to get them a medic so the victim can go to the hospital. 

  
  
  


another case was done, and lucas just wanted to get back home and sleep it off, he wanted to check on reid after garcia’s call to him earlier but he just wanted to rest and perhaps will reach out to reid later on. 

“you look dead” jj commented before lucas replied that he was dead on the inside. 

  
  


as soon as they landed, lucas headed to his car and didn’t bother stopping, he just wanted his bed and nothing else, as soon as he reached his car; lucas noticed spencer walking over to him. 

“hey, you, why did penelope call me earlier worried about you?” 

“she did?” spencer asked 

“yeah...everything okay? you know you can talk to me” 

spencer nodded.

lucas’ comment to alex at the dinner party was accurate; spencer and lucas tend to worry about one another a lot, lucas also knows that if anyone hurts spencer, he’s quick to attack (ex; asshole cops). 

“i’m heading home, i’m tired, but, spence please call me if anything,” lucas said before walking over to the doctor and patting his cheek before leaving to his car. spencer nodded his head as he watched lucas leave into his car. 

  
  
  


“are you sure they’re not in love with one another?” alex asked the team, watching spencer and lucas interact with one another. the team exchanged a look towards one another before letting out a small laugh. 

“they are but they’re oblivious,” derek said. with that everyone left to their own cars and headed home to rest till another case. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	41. 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it was halloween night, and lucas and spencer decide to have some fun

it was after the case, when lucas entered the room to find henry standing in the middle of the bullpen. as lucas walked closer, he saw spencer kneeling in front of his godson and handing him over his FBI badge before penelope whispered something to henry 

“e=mc2!” henry said proudly, getting praises from everyone in the office. 

“who are you supposed to be henry?” lucas asked as he walked over. 

henry pointed at spencer before rushing over to jj, and clutching onto her tightly, lucas patted spencer on the back before asking if he had any plans for halloween tonight. 

“not that i can think of at the moment” spencer replied 

“well, then you’re coming with me,” lucas said. 

jj and henry were heading out with penelope, waving goodbye to everyone; spencer asked what did lucas meant, which lucas responded for spencer to come over to his apartment later tonight and left. spencer got a confused look on his face but he didn’t question it, he went ahead and gathered his belongings as well and headed out. 

  
  
  


lucas looked at the assortment of candies in front of him, robin was in his costume, dressed as a bat, which emily helped pick out after lucas sent pictures of the options. soon, there was a knock at the door, lucas glanced over and rushed over to open the door to see a horrifying mask causing lucas to scream and punch whoever was underneath the mask. 

“ah! lucas, it’s me! spencer” 

“oh my god! i’m sorry” 

spencer took off the mask, he was holding onto his nose, lucas brought him into the house and closed the door before attending to spencer. 

“are you bleeding? i am so sorry!” lucas repeated once more, spencer shared that he was fine that he’s sorry for scaring lucas, he just was an enthusiast for halloween. lucas replied that he shared the same love for halloween. 

spencer slowly let go of his nose realizing it wasn’t broken or bleeding, and asked if lucas was dressing up for halloween, lucas nodded, sharing that he was soon. spencer looked over at robin and noticed his costume and got up before dashing over to robin and petting him. 

“oh my god! robin, you look so good!” 

“it was difficult to put on him” lucas said walking over to spencer. 

lucas asked spencer if he could put some candy into the decorated halloween bowl before rushing off to change into his own costume. 

when lucas returned he was dressed as a ghostbuster, spencer applauded him causing lucas to let out a small laugh. soon the door was knocked on causing lucas to rush over to the door and opened the door to reveal will, jj and henry 

“do not tell me you came all the way from your house to come to my door,” lucas said before kneeling down and handing henry, a handful of candies. jj shared that she remembered that lucas mentioned he was going to hand out candy to trick or treaters. 

spencer appeared from behind surprising jj and will. 

“hey, i didn’t expect you here” jj confessed 

“well, he didn’t really have plans so i dragged him” lucas replied. 

after a few words of exchange, jj, will and henry were off to their next house, before jj promised spencer that she will get his badge back to him tomorrow in safe condition. spencer nodded his head before kneeling down and asking henry if he fought off any monsters yet.

“not yet” henry mumbled. 

spencer had him promise to make sure to fight off monsters and henry nodded as his response. 

  
  


when the door closed, lucas placed the bowl on the counter of the kitchen before walking over to robin and petting him. spencer followed closely behind. 

“you’re good with kids” lucas commented 

“really?” spencer asked, surprised, which caused lucas to give him a look, wondering why he was so surprised by the comment. 

as the night went on, lucas and spencer put on movies, and would pause every now and then to hand out candies for the kids. when the last bag was done, lucas closed the door and shut the lights off, spencer was a bit upset because he wanted candy for themselves. what spencer didn’t know was that lucas had a secret stash in his cabinet. 

“how am i not going to have candy for halloween” lucas replied before placing a bowl between them and pressing play to the movie. spencer kept looking over at lucas, he couldn’t help but admire lucas whenever he could. 

it was at least 11 at night when lucas called it a night, spencer believed that lucas was going to have him stay the night but instead, he didn’t. lucas went ahead and told spencer he should get going. 

“it’s late out there, so i don’t want you to take too long to get home,” lucas said, walking over to the door to let spencer out. for some reason, spencer felt this sort of urge but brushed it away before telling lucas good night. 

“good night, spencer, have a wonderful night,” lucas said, watching spencer head downstairs. 

  
  
  


lucas closed his door to the apartment before walking over to robin and took off the bat wings before putting them away, lucas went ahead to his room and removed his costume and changed into his pjs before going back to the living room and watched one episode of a sictom because, as much as he loved halloween, he didn’t want any memory of the movies him and spencer watched tonight. 

  
  


it was saturday morning, when spencer woke up to a knock on his door, and opened it to see jj with his FBI ID badge, after thanking her for returning it, jj went on her way and spencer headed back to his desk in his apartment. 

it was a day before his next phone call with maeve. maybe he should try to distract himself, but he wasn’t entirely sure what to do, maybe reach out to lucas or something. 

lucas was at his apartment, still asleep when he received a call from garrett. 

**_“garrett, hey what’s up?”_ **

**_“not much, i just wanted to check up on what you’re doing, i’m here in virginia to go apple picking with amanda, do you wanna come? you can invite spencer”_ **

**_“sure! i mean i don’t know about spencer, but i’ll ask”_ **

**_“yes, come around twelve”_ **

lucas hung up the phone before getting ready before going placing robin’s food in his bowl before going next door and informing his neighbor about robin being home and that he was going to be out for a few hours. 

  
  


arriving at spencer’s apartment, lucas knocked on the door, when it was opened, spencer was surprised to see lucas and asked what he was doing here. the young agent responded that garrett was in town; him and amanda were going apple picking and invited spencer and lucas. 

“it is still fall, so there’s no harm in apple picking,” lucas answered, smiling eagerly at spencer; the genius thought about it for a second before going and grabbed his coat before following lucas out to train. 

  
  


“have we ever taken the train together?” lucas said, holding on to stands, spencer shook his head. the train was coming to a stop, which caused lucas to collide with spencer. suddenly lucas felt his face squish against spencer’s chest, being engulfed with the cologne spencer had on. 

spencer’s hand landed on lucas’ middle part of his back, assuring lucas’ care. when the train finally fully stopped, lucas straightened himself up before thanking spencer which was weird because he didn’t really do much. 

a light scoff came from next to lucas and spencer causing both of them to turn and focus on whoever said it and saw it was a man around the age of hotch maybe even rossi. lucas furrowed his eyebrows before asking: “is there a problem?” spencer tugged on lucas’ sleeve trying to stop him from doing anything drastic. 

the man just looked over at lucas for a second before looking back at his newspaper.

“i said  _ , is _ there a problem?” lucas repeated a bit more anger. 

“lucas, please” spencer whispered in his ear but lucas light shoved spencer off of him and approached the man a bit closer. 

“back off, homo” 

“ _ wow  _ homo, real classic asshole, you got a problem with two guys like each other? why because it’s not natural, how about next time instead of scoffing you say it to my face” 

lucas walked back closer to spencer before hearing a muffled from the guy who said: “no one wants to see two fairies going at it in the train” 

the next thing the guy got was lucas’ fist colliding into his face. 

  
  


“sorry for getting us kicked off the train” lucas said, he had his jacket collar up and his hands tucked into his pocket. spencer unraveled his scarf and told lucas to stop for a second. the agent did as spencer said and saw that he was putting his scarf around him. 

“spence…” lucas said

the pair headed off walking to amanda’s apartment, finally they arrived freezing practically. 

amanda rushed them into her apartment and gave them some tea. 

“did you walk here?” asked garrett once they were settled. 

“yes and no” 

“what?” 

“i got us kicked off the train because i punched a homophobic guy” 

garrett glanced over at spencer who didn’t notice and continued sipping his tea.

the group headed to the car and started their way to the apple orchard, garrett kept asking what happened on the train, lucas basically explained. spencer just listened to what lucas was explaining to garrett about what happened. 

“you can’t just go punching people around, lucas” garrett said as they were pulling into the orchard. lucas rolled his eyes as his left knee ended up brushing against spencer’s right knee. 

once they were at a stop, they all got out, amanda explained that there was a small store with the family’s dog that just walks arounds the picnic tables, lucas asked if they had apple cider doughnuts. 

“what?” spencer asked looking over at lucas who replied that it was a doughnut that was the flavor of apple cider obviously. 

“have you ever made apple pie?” spencer asked as they walked down a path, a few steps behind garrett and amanda. lucas shook his head replying that he didn’t like apple pie so instead he made pumpkin pie. 

“hey, slow-pokes, hurry up” garrett called out

“leave me be” lucas replied, he moved a bit closer to spencer, as if he wanted to hold hands or link arms but instead he ended up stepping back to his side. spencer was quick to notice this and reached out for lucas’ jacket sleeve and held onto that

“spencer...what happened back on that case in new mexico?” lucas asked as they stopped to grab some apples. spencer replied it was nothing for lucas to worry about and that’s what he always says whenever lucas tries to ask him. 

  
  


once the four were settled, they decided to get something hot to drink from the store, lucas got his apple cider doughnut and he seemed pretty happy about it. this was just the day spencer needed before tomorrow. 

“tomorrow we should go to a maze see how long it takes us to get out” 

“no” garrett replied 

“spencer, would want to, right and then he win of course” 

“i can’t tomorrow” spencer answered bluntly 

“why?” 

“i have a thing” 

lucas eyed him as garrett and amanda moved on from the subject. 

amanda suggested for them to drop lucas and spencer off at lucas’ apartment. lucas ended up sleeping on spencer’s shoulder, when they finally arrived at the apartment, spencer woke up lucas before the pair thanked garrett and amanda for the invite. 

“you don’t have to stay if you don’t want to,” lucas mumbled walking to the entrance, spencer can tell lucas was mad about something but he wasn’t sure what. 

“did i do something wrong?” spencer asked 

“no, it’s nothing really” lucas replied, spencer was hesitant about following lucas into his apartment so instead he told lucas he was going to take the bus home. lucas just nodded before telling spencer good bye. 

spencer can tell something was off. 

  
  


it’s not that lucas was mad at spencer, but he felt that spencer was brushing him off and didn’t want anything to do with lucas which upset him. the small tears filled up in his eyes so lucas just rubbed them before entering his apartment. 

lucas pet robin as he saw the note from his neighbor reading that everything was fine at home today, and that robin was well fed but put more food out for him just in case. 

lucas walked over to his bed room and just flopped on the bed before hearing a faint ‘meow’ on his left before completely falling asleep. 

  
  


it was after the case, when lucas entered the room to find henry standing in the middle of the bullpen. as lucas walked closer, he saw spencer kneeling in front of his godson and handing him over his FBI badge before penelope whispered something to henry 

“e=mc2!” henry said proudly, getting praises from everyone in the office. 

“who are you supposed to be henry?” lucas asked as he walked over. 

henry pointed at spencer before rushing over to jj, and clutching onto her tightly, lucas patted spencer on the back before asking if he had any plans for halloween tonight. 

“not that i can think of at the moment” spencer replied 

“well, then you’re coming with me,” lucas said. 

jj and henry were heading out with penelope, waving goodbye to everyone; spencer asked what did lucas meant, which lucas responded for spencer to come over to his apartment later tonight and left. spencer got a confused look on his face but he didn’t question it, he went ahead and gathered his belongings as well and headed out. 

  
  
  


lucas looked at the assortment of candies in front of him, robin was in his costume, dressed as a bat, which emily helped pick out after lucas sent pictures of the options. soon, there was a knock at the door, lucas glanced over and rushed over to open the door to see a horrifying mask causing lucas to scream and punch whoever was underneath the mask. 

“ah! lucas, it’s me! spencer” 

“oh my god! i’m sorry” 

spencer took off the mask, he was holding onto his nose, lucas brought him into the house and closed the door before attending to spencer. 

“are you bleeding? i am so sorry!” lucas repeated once more, spencer shared that he was fine that he’s sorry for scaring lucas, he just was an enthusiast for halloween. lucas replied that he shared the same love for halloween. 

spencer slowly let go of his nose realizing it wasn’t broken or bleeding, and asked if lucas was dressing up for halloween, lucas nodded, sharing that he was soon. spencer looked over at robin and noticed his costume and got up before dashing over to robin and petting him. 

“oh my god! robin, you look so good!” 

“it was difficult to put on him” lucas said walking over to spencer. 

lucas asked spencer if he could put some candy into the decorated halloween bowl before rushing off to change into his own costume. 

when lucas returned he was dressed as a ghostbuster, spencer applauded him causing lucas to let out a small laugh. soon the door was knocked on causing lucas to rush over to the door and opened the door to reveal will, jj and henry 

“do not tell me you came all the way from your house to come to my door,” lucas said before kneeling down and handing henry, a handful of candies. jj shared that she remembered that lucas mentioned he was going to hand out candy to trick or treaters. 

spencer appeared from behind surprising jj and will. 

“hey, i didn’t expect you here” jj confessed 

“well, he didn’t really have plans so i dragged him” lucas replied. 

after a few words of exchange, jj, will and henry were off to their next house, before jj promised spencer that she will get his badge back to him tomorrow in safe condition. spencer nodded his head before kneeling down and asking henry if he fought off any monsters yet.

“not yet” henry mumbled. 

spencer had him promise to make sure to fight off monsters and henry nodded as his response. 

  
  


when the door closed, lucas placed the bowl on the counter of the kitchen before walking over to robin and petting him. spencer followed closely behind. 

“you’re good with kids” lucas commented 

“really?” spencer asked, surprised, which caused lucas to give him a look, wondering why he was so surprised by the comment. 

as the night went on, lucas and spencer put on movies, and would pause every now and then to hand out candies for the kids. when the last bag was done, lucas closed the door and shut the lights off, spencer was a bit upset because he wanted candy for themselves. what spencer didn’t know was that lucas had a secret stash in his cabinet. 

“how am i not going to have candy for halloween” lucas replied before placing a bowl between them and pressing play to the movie. spencer kept looking over at lucas, he couldn’t help but admire lucas whenever he could. 

it was at least 11 at night when lucas called it a night, spencer believed that lucas was going to have him stay the night but instead, he didn’t. lucas went ahead and told spencer he should get going. 

“it’s late out there, so i don’t want you to take too long to get home,” lucas said, walking over to the door to let spencer out. for some reason, spencer felt this sort of urge but brushed it away before telling lucas good night. 

“good night, spencer, have a wonderful night,” lucas said, watching spencer head downstairs. 

  
  
  


lucas closed his door to the apartment before walking over to robin and took off the bat wings before putting them away, lucas went ahead to his room and removed his costume and changed into his pjs before going back to the living room and watched one episode of a sictom because, as much as he loved halloween, he didn’t want any memory of the movies him and spencer watched tonight. 

  
  


it was saturday morning, when spencer woke up to a knock on his door, and opened it to see jj with his FBI ID badge, after thanking her for returning it, jj went on her way and spencer headed back to his desk in his apartment. 

it was a day before his next phone call with maeve. maybe he should try to distract himself, but he wasn’t entirely sure what to do, maybe reach out to lucas or something. 

lucas was at his apartment, still asleep when he received a call from garrett. 

**_“garrett, hey what’s up?”_ **

**_“not much, i just wanted to check up on what you’re doing, i’m here in virginia to go apple picking with amanda, do you wanna come? you can invite spencer”_ **

**_“sure! i mean i don’t know about spencer, but i’ll ask”_ **

**_“yes, come around twelve”_ **

lucas hung up the phone before getting ready before going placing robin’s food in his bowl before going next door and informing his neighbor about robin being home and that he was going to be out for a few hours. 

  
  


arriving at spencer’s apartment, lucas knocked on the door, when it was opened, spencer was surprised to see lucas and asked what he was doing here. the young agent responded that garrett was in town; him and amanda were going apple picking and invited spencer and lucas. 

“it is still fall, so there’s no harm in apple picking,” lucas answered, smiling eagerly at spencer; the genius thought about it for a second before going and grabbed his coat before following lucas out to train. 

  
  


“have we ever taken the train together?” lucas said, holding on to stands, spencer shook his head. the train was coming to a stop, which caused lucas to collide with spencer. suddenly lucas felt his face squish against spencer’s chest, being engulfed with the cologne spencer had on. 

spencer’s hand landed on lucas’ middle part of his back, assuring lucas’ care. when the train finally fully stopped, lucas straightened himself up before thanking spencer which was weird because he didn’t really do much. 

a light scoff came from next to lucas and spencer causing both of them to turn and focus on whoever said it and saw it was a man around the age of hotch maybe even rossi. lucas furrowed his eyebrows before asking: “is there a problem?” spencer tugged on lucas’ sleeve trying to stop him from doing anything drastic. 

the man just looked over at lucas for a second before looking back at his newspaper.

“i said  _ , is _ there a problem?” lucas repeated a bit more anger. 

“lucas, please” spencer whispered in his ear but lucas light shoved spencer off of him and approached the man a bit closer. 

“back off, homo” 

“ _ wow  _ homo, real classic asshole, you got a problem with two guys like each other? why because it’s not natural, how about next time instead of scoffing you say it to my face” 

lucas walked back closer to spencer before hearing a muffled from the guy who said: “no one wants to see two fairies going at it in the train” 

the next thing the guy got was lucas’ fist colliding into his face. 

  
  


“sorry for getting us kicked off the train” lucas said, he had his jacket collar up and his hands tucked into his pocket. spencer unraveled his scarf and told lucas to stop for a second. the agent did as spencer said and saw that he was putting his scarf around him. 

“spence…” lucas said

the pair headed off walking to amanda’s apartment, finally they arrived freezing practically. 

amanda rushed them into her apartment and gave them some tea. 

“did you walk here?” asked garrett once they were settled. 

“yes and no” 

“what?” 

“i got us kicked off the train because i punched a homophobic guy” 

garrett glanced over at spencer who didn’t notice and continued sipping his tea.

the group headed to the car and started their way to the apple orchard, garrett kept asking what happened on the train, lucas basically explained. spencer just listened to what lucas was explaining to garrett about what happened. 

“you can’t just go punching people around, lucas” garrett said as they were pulling into the orchard. lucas rolled his eyes as his left knee ended up brushing against spencer’s right knee. 

once they were at a stop, they all got out, amanda explained that there was a small store with the family’s dog that just walks arounds the picnic tables, lucas asked if they had apple cider doughnuts. 

“what?” spencer asked looking over at lucas who replied that it was a doughnut that was the flavor of apple cider obviously. 

“have you ever made apple pie?” spencer asked as they walked down a path, a few steps behind garrett and amanda. lucas shook his head replying that he didn’t like apple pie so instead he made pumpkin pie. 

“hey, slow-pokes, hurry up” garrett called out

“leave me be” lucas replied, he moved a bit closer to spencer, as if he wanted to hold hands or link arms but instead he ended up stepping back to his side. spencer was quick to notice this and reached out for lucas’ jacket sleeve and held onto that

“spencer...what happened back on that case in new mexico?” lucas asked as they stopped to grab some apples. spencer replied it was nothing for lucas to worry about and that’s what he always says whenever lucas tries to ask him. 

  
  


once the four were settled, they decided to get something hot to drink from the store, lucas got his apple cider doughnut and he seemed pretty happy about it. this was just the day spencer needed before tomorrow. 

“tomorrow we should go to a maze see how long it takes us to get out” 

“no” garrett replied 

“spencer, would want to, right and then he win of course” 

“i can’t tomorrow” spencer answered bluntly 

“why?” 

“i have a thing” 

lucas eyed him as garrett and amanda moved on from the subject. 

amanda suggested for them to drop lucas and spencer off at lucas’ apartment. lucas ended up sleeping on spencer’s shoulder, when they finally arrived at the apartment, spencer woke up lucas before the pair thanked garrett and amanda for the invite. 

“you don’t have to stay if you don’t want to,” lucas mumbled walking to the entrance, spencer can tell lucas was mad about something but he wasn’t sure what. 

“did i do something wrong?” spencer asked 

“no, it’s nothing really” lucas replied, spencer was hesitant about following lucas into his apartment so instead he told lucas he was going to take the bus home. lucas just nodded before telling spencer good bye. 

spencer can tell something was off. 

  
  


it’s not that lucas was mad at spencer, but he felt that spencer was brushing him off and didn’t want anything to do with lucas which upset him. the small tears filled up in his eyes so lucas just rubbed them before entering his apartment. 

lucas pet robin as he saw the note from his neighbor reading that everything was fine at home today, and that robin was well fed but put more food out for him just in case. 

lucas walked over to his bed room and just flopped on the bed before hearing a faint ‘meow’ on his left before completely falling asleep. 

  
  
  
  



	42. 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐧

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> lucas and spencer have slowly drifted apart after what happened at the apple orchard but they have a case on their hands and can't focus on one another or even anything

after what had happened at the apple orchard, lucas didn’t really reach out to spencer as much, he missed him though but ever since what happened with their case in new mexico, something caused them to slowly drift apart and everyone around them seem to take notice as well. 

“...do you think they got into a fight?” penelope whispered

“they didn’t get into a fight, they don’t seem mad at one another” derek responded taking notice of spencer and lucas’ behavior around one another. no one was sure what exactly was going on with lucas and spencer, they were concerned however. 

  
  


lucas rubbed his eyes before hotch called them into the round table for their next case. for some reason, no one moved till lucas and spencer went ahead, observing what is going on. 

“you guys coming or what?” lucas asked as he got closer to the door. 

  
  
  
  


“alright, fasten you seatbelts, because we are going to winslow, arizona” penelope announced, lucas was zoned out, the young agent, looked over the files and didn’t pay too much attention. 

spencer kept glancing over at lucas, to see how he was doing, they haven’t talked over the weekend, or at all, he’s worried that he did do something but what? even when lucas and spencer talked, it was awkward. 

lucas was feeling that spencer was slowly losing his trust in him, which sucked because it seem previously that they always communicate with one another, but maybe there was somethings they didn’t have to fair, and when lucas finally realized that he felt like an idiot but he wasn’t sure how to confront spencer and talk to him about it considering that lucas felt embarrassed and because they haven’t talked in a while. 

  
  


when lucas looked back at the screen he saw a body that bones was most likely dislocated causing him to react by saying: “holy shit, what the fuck?!” everyone’s eyes were on him, penelope’s eyes widened, shocked by his comment. 

“sorry….” lucas mumbled. 

  
  


as soon as they were on the plane, lucas noticed spencer near the bathroom, grabbing some coffee from the coffee machine, he walked over to the tall boy before tapping on his shoulder. 

“hey…” 

“hi” 

lucas was unsure what to say next, and just as he was about to say something, hotch told them to gather to discuss more on the case. spencer walked right past lucas as if he never saw him there. the young agent turned around and looked at the back of hotch’s head, glaring at him heavily before joining the rest of the team. 

  
  


**_“anything happen between our boy wonder and lucas?”_ ** penelope had called derek as soon as they landed in arizona, but derek responded that there was no update for lucas and spencer. penelope let out a low groan, but derek promised that he'd let her know of anything. 

  
  
  


reid and lucas were sent with rossi to the morgue to examine the body that was found at the crime scene. 

“there are marks on his neck that indicates that he was possible hung several times” 

the doctor went ahead and explained what they found so fair from the body, just as they were talking about the body from the crime scene, another one entered and the victim was killed the same way as the other.

“the real question is, why is the unsub doing this?” asked rossi before the three headed to the station. 

reid believes it’s some sort of tortue that dislocates the body, lucas scrunched his nose up disgusted and being weirded out by the way reid was talking about it. hotch decided to take this time to call garcia to see if she can find anyone who has medieval tools or a stretcher of some sort. 

“okay, so i found cross referenced the stretching with SM but i don’t think it’s the same type of stretching we’re looking for” penelope said. 

“garcia, can you send me that link regardless of a whole different topic” lucas joked before getting a look from rossi, hotch and reid. lucas quickly said that he was joking before reid suggested that the unsub possible built his own stretcher for the torture; garcia made a promsie to call back if she did find anything before hanging up, just as she did, morgan came in the room with news from the crime scene. 

  
  
  


they found another body, covered with paper tissues that people use for birthday gifts, he seemed that he was choked on something, reid had pointed out that it seemed that his hands were harmed the most. the way the body was positioned and posed seemed very religious like. 

“there must be a reason he’s keeping connie” confirmed lucas. 

reid noticed that in the coat there was a tag of a store name, he asked about it to the sheriff who confirmed that it was a local store that was a thrift shop of some sort, lucas shared that he’ll call morgan and jj and he’ll head over there with them once the profile was delivered. 

  
  
  


after the profile was delivered, morgan, jj and lucas headed to the store that was found on the latest victim’s clothing. when they entered jj asked the employee there that they were looking for similar clothes to the one that was on the victim. 

“i’m sorry we’re out of those” responded the man who then introduced himself as tucker once morgan shared they were from the FBI. 

“we found a victim on a case we’re working on that was wearing an outfit that was bought from here, there is the picture for proof” lucas said as morgan revealed one to tucker. 

jj proceed to show the picture of the unsub before the harm that got him, tucker shared that it was possible that he has some sort of record of whomever got the outfits, if they paid with credit, tucker shared he was going to go check on that while the other three remain around the store. 

jj pointed out a set a sweater vest, and saying: “this is all very spencer reid” 

lucas let out a small smile before he focused on something else, knowing jj was probably going to ask about lucas and spencer and he just wasn’t ready for that convo not until he speaks with spencer. 

“...retty boy got a girlfriend” morgan said in a singing taunting voice which caught lucas’ attention. 

“i’m sorry what?” 

jj was also confused, wondering why reid hadn't told them (the team). morgan shrugged before saying he respects reid’s privacy which caused both lucas and jj to say that he does not, which he agreed to but he wasn’t going to ask reid constantly about his personal life. morgan was right, and lucas was in the wrong for being upset with reid. 

suddenly he noticed tucker driving down the street and shouted to jj and morgan that he was leaving. 

all three ran out of the store to see where he was heading, lucas made a call for an APB on a brown chrysler station wagon. after the call was made, lucas placed his phone back in his pocket frustrated. 

“why the hell did he run?” 

  
  
  
  


blake finally found reid tucked away in a empty office space, she claimed that she’s been looking all over for him, saying that she was a bit worried on why reid was in here alone; the genius expressed that he was having a tough time concentrating out there so decided to go ahead and come in here. 

  
  


“you seem off, is this about lucas or phone booth girl or both maybe?” 

reid let out a soft sigh, he wasn’t sure which problem bothered/worried him more; him and lucas not on speaking terms or the fact he’s meeting maeve for the first time. blake can tell both issues were stressing him out and were probably the reason that he was not being able to focus with some many people around. 

“okay, how about we take this step by step, what’s up with you and lucas” 

“i think that he thinks i don’t trust him anymore after what happened in new mexico” 

“about phone booth girl” 

spencer nodded but he added on that he mentioned to blake that there was some parts of him life he didn’t want the team to know because it was in fact his private life, but spencer feels that the way he just didn’t communicate that well with lucas caused a dent in their friendship. 

“i just think if i told lucas why i wasn’t telling him, he would understand” 

“you can’t blame yourself, and plus i know you or lucas will go to one another and talk it over, it seems like something you both do” blake confirmed 

spencer did believe that, him and lucas tend to have the constant up and down moments of their friendship, one of them being that time when he had gave pilar lucas’ number without confirmation from lucas. 

“now what about phone booth girl” blake asked 

“she wants to meet” 

“you’ve never met one another?” 

spencer shook his head, blake asked if he was worried on how she looked like, spencer replied: “it doesn’t matter what she looks like she’s already the most beautiful girl in the world to me” 

spencer’s main concern was about maeve not liking him because he was well, himself. blake sat across from spencer asking him why he would maeve not like spencer and he believed it was because he was weird, and went on about his flaws that he noticed of himself. 

blake disagreed quickly, which reid was surprised at because he claims that his mom and aunt ethel both believe his hair is too long. 

“i don’t wanna ruin something so special over something so trivial as looks” 

“i think you’re excited but afraid, can i tell you something that stays between us?” 

“sure” spencer replied. 

blake took one last look behind her before responding: “i see the way, lucas looks at you and i know this isn’t about him right now, but the two of you are friends, and he’s something you trust the most i’m assuming” 

spencer nodded 

“he seems to be in awe of you, admiring everything you do, and i know it’s not the same because lucas sees you everyday, but if you were talking to him right now, he tell you everything about is perfect and phone booth girl will be the luckiest girl every” 

spencer nodded, before blake asked when he plan on meeting maeve, to which spencer quickly responded the minute they get back from the case. blake replied for spencer to go ahead and go on the date to not hold back. 

suddenly lucas appeared at the doorway

“someone said you guys were here, hotch wants us in the conference room” 

“cortez, let me ask you something” 

“sure, what’s up?” 

blake looked at spencer then back at lucas and asked: “what’s your thoughts on reid?” 

lucas and spencer shared a look before lucas focused back on blake asking if this was necessary right now. blake of course nodded her head

  
  


“i think spencer is one of the most amazing human beings i’ve ever met, now can we please go?” 

“one last thing, do you think spencer’s hair is too long?” 

“no, now blake, let’s go” 

  
  
  


as they were discussing about the unsub, and why he would dislocate the victim’s body parts after their dead, when suddenly reid seemed like he got something. 

“i can see your wheels turning don’t hold back” rossi said, reid talked about the possibility that the unsub was turning his victims into human marionettes based on everything he was doing to the victims. 

“wait, puppets?” lucas asked looking at them 

reid believed that the unsub is trying to tell them a story due to the past history uses of marionettes. lucas and rossi looked over files before rossi pointed out there was a reason the men were the ones being killed off. 

“they were too heavy to pull and control, if you look at the victims, each one is less weight than the other” lucas shared. 

hotch made a call to garcia to see if they can track down to one theatre that could possible have their unsub. 

after getting a call about a father and son getting abducted in a parking lot, rossi and blake returned from the scene and shared that someone had saw a blue van; hotch once again called garcia to find anything of father and son and rossi added for the search to be from 20-30 years ago. 

“a puppeteer name alex rain was murdered in a robbery and his son, adam witnessed it all and he called tucker forty times in the last month and his dad was known for puppets called mitch and stef, one had black hair the other red” 

it was set, adam rain was their unsub. 

after the case wrapped up, with the team capturing adam and placing him in custody and getting the victims the help they needed to the hospital. 

  
  


lucas looked over at spencer and walked over to him before sitting across from him. 

“hey, i was wondering if we could talk” 

“sure” 

lucas shared that he understood why spencer didn’t want to talk about his private life, with everything they went through, and this job it hardly seems they get a break. 

  
“it was wrong of me to just be mad at you when i should’ve respected you” 

“it’s okay, i should’ve just talked to you about why i didn’t want to tell you” 

“we good?” 

spencer nodded his head, lucas smiled before asking why blake asked him about spencer back at the station, spencer bashfully smiled before sharing about maeve, lucas listened and smiled widely for spencer instead of telling him that he already knew thanks to morgan. 

“wait, you’re meeting her? have you never met her?” 

“only through phone” 

“so what are you worried about?” 

spencer shared that he was worried that maeve would think he’s weird or that his looks aren’t good enough. 

“spencer, she would be so lucky to have you, you’re not weird, you’re amazing and a genius, you’re attractive, and  _ anyone  _ would be lucky to have you,  _ she’s  _ lucky to have you” 

spencer smiled to himself, blake was right. 

“i’m meeting her as soon as we land” 

“really? well if everything goes well, you have to tell me if you’re willing to” 

spencer nodded, smiling. 

  
  


as soon as everyone was leaving home, jj suggested they all go to rossi’s for a drinks, hotch was joining them which caused lucas to tell him that they were all heading to rossi’s 

“oh well, jack is sleeping over a friend’s house and i was planning on going to new york to see beth” 

“okay, hotch i see you, trying to get some” lucas joked

everyone laughed before penelope asked where was reid, lucas stayed quiet before blake said: “oh he said he had something important to do” and quickly but loud enough for everyone in the elevator to hear, jj said: “spencer has a girlfriend” 

“wait, really? i always thought he would date lucas” rossi joked from his corner, earning a glare from lucas. 

  
  
  


after a few drinks, lucas texted spencer saying:  _ “she’s going to love you, good luck!!! and if anything i’ll be there in thirty minutes”  _

  
  


all lucas hoped for is that spencer’s date goes well and that maeve knows that spencer is worth it.


	43. 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐩 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐰𝐨

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> lucas goes back to nyc for a small get together with his friends from uni, and everyone at the BAU grows a bit worried till lucas asks spencer to come with, to have them get off his back.

lucas was looking over his plan for tomorrow, the thing tomorrow was a columbia theatre department reunion (well at least close friends). garrett was inviting amanda, and lucas was just tagging along because well he wouldn’t mind seeing the theatre department friends, and it’s been a while since he’s been in new york. 

“your head seems stuck in the clouds, cortez” morgan’s voice rang through lucas’ ears, causing him to look up to see blake and morgan looking over at him. 

“sorry, it’s just i have to wake up tomorrow early for something” 

“you’re not coming into work?” blake asked 

lucas responded that he asked for the day off and he’ll be back on monday, jj joined the conversation with penelope by her side, asking where lucas was going. the agent responded that he was going to new york for the weekend. 

“is that okay? i mean because everything that you’ve went through in new york and ben being there” penelope asked concerned for her friend 

“at last, i must admit, new york has not been my best place, for some time, but it was also my home after i left my home home” lucas shared looking at the agents. 

spencer entered the bullpen and notice the others near lucas’ desk and asked what was going on, penelope shared what lucas told them. 

“you’re back to new york? alone?” 

“no, not alone, with garrett and amanda” 

“but…” spencer expressed his concern, and lucas was quick to react and said: “do you wanna come?” 

everyone watched as if it was a tennis match, spencer seemed hesitant and slowly nodded before asking when lucas was leaving, to which he responded that he was leaving tomorrow morning and added that he’ll have to talk to hotch as well about tomorrow. 

“okay, i’ll come” 

“great, it’s settled,” lucas said smiling. 

“still, it doesn't ease my worries,” jj said , touching lucas’ shoulder and rubbing it for comfort. 

  
  


the following morning, lucas had an alarm set for five am, around four-thirty though, was a loud banging from lucas’ entrance door. part of lucas wondered if it was the ghost at his apartment but he didn’t believe it so he got out of bed and fumble to the door. 

when the door open, lucas can make out a shape of spencer. 

“spence?” 

“hi, am i early?” 

“yes, i was going to wake up at five, because amanda is coming by six but now i’m up” lucas said as he yawned, and slowly shuffled to the couch, spencer rambled on and on about how sorry he was and that it was because lucas didn’t give him an exact time. 

lucas nodded understanding before sitting on the couch and holding the couch pillow close to him. 

“you rest, i’ll wake you up at five, or five-fifteen if you want” 

“fi...teen” lucas mumbled, spencer nodded his head before going ahead and sitting his bags down near the other couch before going into the kitchen. 

  
  
  
  


when the time came, lucas was awakened by spencer and they got ready, getting breakfast and such. once six came, amanda called and shared that she was here, and the pair made their way downstairs to the car and saw amanda smiling eagerly. 

after setting all bags in the truck, they got into the car and amanda smiled eagerly at spencer. 

“how are you? i feel like i haven’t seen you in a while” amanda asked as they began driving off. 

“i’m good, i don’t know if lucas told you...but i’m seeing someone,” spencer said, fumbling with his jacket, mumbling a bit under his breath. 

“no, he didn’t, wow, who are they?” 

“someone, but she’s really amazing” spencer said smiling 

  
  


after four hours of driving (and of course some pit stops), they finally arrived at garrett’s apartment, gia and ashlee were there, it had been a while since lucas had seen them face to face and was glad to finally see them. 

“i miss you so much, how are you?” 

lucas nodded, smiling saying he was fine, before introducing spencer again. 

“you girls remembered, dr. spencer reid” 

“yes, it’s so much better to see you in better circumstances,” gia said smiling at spencer, who nodded his head. garrett introduced amanda to gia and ashlee who told lucas they believed garrett and amanda had a thing for each other. 

lucas agreed wholeheartedly. 

“so, what is going on with columbia university that you’re all attending?” amanda asked, sitting down at the couch, gia explained it was a small get together for some people they were friends with on saturday. lucas asked if it was alright with garrett if he and spencer went ahead and checked into the hotel they were staying at because he was a bit tired. garrett said it was fine and to call them later. 

“you should’ve had me drive you guys” amanda said as they began to leave, lucas shared that it was fine before he followed spencer out of the apartment. 

  
  


finally arriving at the hotel and checking in, lucas set his bag down before asking spencer, how was maeve and their date. spencer seemed hesitant about responding but shared everything was alright. lucas believed that it was something personal, so whenever spencer was ready to tell him he would. 

“i’m going to sleep a bit, wake me up at a reasonable time,” lucas said before kicking off his shoes and laying back on the bed. spencer glanced over at him before pulling out his book from the luggage and reading it. 

  
  


around four in the afternoon, lucas woke up and was hungry, believing that it was time to eat, spencer suggested that they go eat; lucas nodded and they both got ready to eat. lucas and spencer headed out to eat, and chose to eat at a nearby place.

they decided to get chinese food, as they leaving, the restaurant and to head to garrett’s place, they ran into someone familiar that lucas didn’t think he would run into considering that new york is a huge city. 

“ben, hey”

“what are you doing here?” 

“i have a thing with columbia” 

lucas wasn’t sure what to say next before spencer appeared next to him. 

“of course you’re here with him” ben mumbled. 

lucas felt sorry for some reason, and spencer didn’t like seeing lucas like this, so he went ahead and said: “lucas, we should get going” and gently pushed lucas out of the restaurant. 

“i’m sorry i sort of just froze…” lucas mumbled under his breath. spencer rubbed lucas’ back, sharing that he has nothing to apologize for. 

sunday came around, also the day it was the columbia reunion. it was currently 7:30 pm, lucas and spencer were meeting garrett and the others at the restaurant that was on campus. they took a cab instead of walking there. 

“are you nervous?” lucas asked spencer who just let out a small smile before shaking his head slightly. lucas nodded his head before looking out the window again. 

when they finally got there, garrett was waiting outside with amanda. 

“hey, you’re finally here!” garrett said 

“yup, we took a taxi, but finally i’m here” lucas said 

garrett rushed them in and led them to a table near the back where there was other people beside gia and ashlee. 

“hey! is that lucas cortez in the flesh?” shouted someone, everyone went into an uproar cheer. lucas was showered with hugs and such, after all the ruckus, lucas introduced spencer to the others. 

“he works with me at the BAU” 

“nice to meet you all” 

they all smiled and said hi to spencer. 

  
  


the night went on and on, as they all talked about their time at columbia and in the theatre department. 

“i’m still surprised you weren’t a musical theatre major, you could sing!” said one of lucas’ friends commenting towards lucas, who just bashfully smiled saying that he wasn’t that good. everyone seemed to have disagreed because they all started telling him that he was wrong. 

“seriously, i’m not that good” 

“liar! spencer, have you ever heard lucas sing?” 

spencer shook his head as he ate his food, all of lucas’ friends insisted that lucas sing for spencer but lucas shook his head in disagreement. 

  
  
  


as the night was slowly dying down, one of lucas’ friends asked: “i know you said spencer is a co-worker or whatever but are you guys dating?” 

spencer and lucas shook their heads rapidly saying that they weren’t and that spencer had a girlfriend. 

“i’m so sorry about my friends,” lucas mumbled, spencer just nodded and smile. 

  
  
  
  
  


monday came around; lucas, amanda and spencer headed back to virginia, wishing garrett, gia and ashlee goodbye before leaving. lucas was fast asleep in the passenger seat, spencer was wide awake and looked out the window. 

amanda noticed that he was up and asked him who he called through payphone yesterday. 

“because, you know, you have a cell phone last i check” 

“my phone wasn’t working…” 

“was it your girlfriend?” 

spencer slowly nodded, he didn’t get to talk to maeve too long because they were leaving for the restaurant at the time, he hoped that he didn’t worry about maeve too much with the sudden hang up. 

  
  


arriving back in virginia, amanda dropped lucas and spencer off at lucas’ apartment, once both lucas and spencer got out, they waved goodbye to amanda before leaving upstairs. 

  
  


lucas set his bags to the side and flopped on the couch, he asked spencer if he can call penelope and ask her to bring robin over when she can. spencer nodded as he kicked off his shoes, before asking if lucas needed anything else and the agent shook his head. 

“spencer, i hope you had fun” lucas mumbled, spencer nodded his head even though he knew that lucas wasn’t looking at him at the moment.

spencer hoped that lucas had fun, beside running into ben; it seemed that lucas was a bit more happier when he was with his friends. lucas did mention that new york was his first home where he was able to be himself without his family or anyone talking him down. 


	44. 𝐳𝐮𝐠𝐳𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐠

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> spencer learns his girlfriend is kidnapped by her stalker, he askes the team for their help to get maeve back and track the stalker down

lucas was looking over his paperwork, when hotch called everyone in; everyone headed to the round table where spencer stood, and it seemed like he was crying for hours. lucas approached spencer and asked if everything was okay. 

hotch told them to sit down and to have spencer explain what was going on. 

  
  


spencer started explaining what happened today on the phone with his call to maeve, and he went on about what happened and that he wanted to focus on this case, but he couldn’t; spencer couldn’t stop thinking about maeve and her possible kidnapping. 

“i can only focus on things, four seconds at the time which makes me the dumbest person in the room” 

“not necessarily, i mean i’m in this room” lucas joked trying to help spencer, but it didn’t seem to crack a smile on his face, he was hurt over maeve. lucas looked over at him, before promising that they were going to find her. 

hotch shared that they weren’t sure if it was a case yet but they will be taking a look into it and wanted everyone to be able to help out, of course everyone nodded wanting to help spencer.

hotch had made copies of the letters, maeve had given spencer to have them to see if they are able to find anything. 

  
  


“based on the way maeve talks about the stalker, it seems like he’s a possessive one,” morgan pointed out. it was true, looking over the letters the stalker seems to crave validation, mentioning several times on why maeve won’t see him, even how when he finds mave, he was going to kill maeve and then himself. 

“when did the stalker start?” hotch asked spencer 

“she said it was out of the blue, something she didn’t even notice” spencer replied. 

lucas asked if there is anyone that maeve suspects to be the stalker, but spencer shook his head in response. 

penelope shared she found information on maeve; full name was dr. maeve donovan and she recently took a sabbatical from her workplace ten months ago. lucas joked about maeve being a doctor and spencer having a doctorate, they were a match made in heaven. blake quickly responded that the timeline fit perfectly to when maeve left work and when the stalking started. 

  
  


penelope added how there was a loft that it seems like maeve’s parents had bought. hotch told jj and morgan to check out the loft, blake and rossi to go to maeve’s workplace. hotch shared that he wanted to talk to maeve’s parents and wanted spencer to observe the interview before telling lucas to stay with garcia till further notice. 

  
  


“he’s going to be okay right?” penelope asked, lucas nodded his head; penelope can tell when lucas seemed stressed out over something before asking if he was doing alright. 

lucas responded that he’s just a bit worried about spencer, seeing him like this was not something he liked. penelope reached out to touch his hand to assure lucas that everything was going to be alright.

“he just, he seemed happy when it came to maeve, i just….i don’t want him to lose her” 

penelope nodded her head before returning to her work, in lucas head it echoed ‘ _ i don’t wanna lose him’ _

  
  
  


“maeve had a fiance,” spencer said, entering the round room again, lucas and penelope looked at him with a surprised look on their face. before lucas can say anything, hotch asks if penelope can find the location of maeve’s fiance. 

“got it here’s the address” penelope said 

“great, tell morgan and rossi to meet us there,” hotch said as he and spencer began leaving. lucas seemed hesitant about going after them, penelope noticed and told him to go so lucas got up and ran after hotch and spencer. 

“i’m coming too!” lucas shouted. 

  
  
  
  


when everyone got there, they entered the apartment building, spencer kept going on and on about how maeve had a fiance, hotch tried to calm spencer down by telling him that they were going to handle it. 

“robert putton, FBI, open up” morgan said banging on the door, rossi showed his FBI badge to the door hole. soon enough, a young girl with blake hair opened the door. 

“oh my god, georgina sparks?” lucas jokingly said, because the girl who open the door looked exactly like georgina sparks from the hit tv show,  _ Gossip Girl.  _ the team and the girl who opened the door looked at him in confusion, before lucas commented it was from a show. 

“we’re looking for robert putton, do you know where he is?” rossi asked 

“he’s in the back” responded look-alike georgina

hotch responded they needed to talk to him, they started entering the apartment, lucas asked who she was to robert. 

“well, i’m not whomever that georgina girl is, my name is diana, his girlfriend” diana responded in an annoyed tone. suddenly a man with dark hair entered the room, asking who was at the door and spencer was quick to answer before stopping himself from talking. 

“hey, i know” said robert. 

hotch and lucas were quick to react, pushing spencer out of the apartment, lucas closed the door behind them leaving morgan and rossi in the apartment. 

“i need to talk to him-”

“why did he just recognize you?” hotch asked spencer, 

spencer explained how robert recognized him, saying that him and maeve were going to meet a couple of weeks ago and he had seen robert and something about him seemed off, before spencer could continue he was cut off by hotch; who asked him why didn’t spencer tell him before. spencer explained that he didn’t know who robert was and saw a friend sit down with him so spencer assumed he overreacted. 

“he could be our possible unsub, you are now material witness, i can’t let you go in!” hotch said before ordering spencer to stay put. just as hotch went back in, spencer went walking down the hallway. 

“spence!” lucas chased after him till they were finally outside. 

  
  


“you have to understand that hotch is doing this to help you save maeve!” lucas said. spencer let out a low sigh, saying he understood, but it didn’t seem like spencer didn’t understand, he seemed like he was regretting something, or that spencer was upset over something and it could possible connect to maeve. 

“excuse me, doctor, agent hotch said he was done with me upstairs, can you tell me what’s going on?” came diana’s voice from behind. lucas gave her a confused look, and wondered if hotch had mentioned spencer’s name or if spencer mentioned his name. morgan came out and said to diana that they were going to keep in touch with them and when he had said thank you, his tone sounded annoyed with her. 

diana walked away from the three men, after she left, morgan asked spencer what was going on in his mind. 

“2,412” spencer said 

“i’m sorry what?” lucas asked 

spencer explained what it meant, it was how many hours maeve and him had been communicating, including phone calls and letters. lucas thought that it was sweet spencer remembered but it seemed like there was something more about him mentioning the hours.

“what if that’s all i get?” 

“it’s not though, when we finally save her, and you get to lay your eyes on her, what’s the first thing you’re going to say?” morgan asked

spencer stayed quiet, before talking about a time where him and maeve were on the phone and just they were hanging up, maeve goes ‘bye, i love you’ and it seemed that spencer didn’t say it back to her because he was waiting for when they would meet. 

lucas can tell he regretted it, the agent walked up to spencer and patted his arm assuring spencer that they were going to find her and that he was going to get to say i love you back. 

  
  


spencer and lucas headed back to the BAU, where jj found them and explained to them what she found on the picture. spencer responded that it wasn’t much because they knew that the stalker was out to get maeve. 

“we know, but look at what the unsub used, black eyeliner” 

that’s when the bolts in lucas’ brain snapped and he shouted: “georgina sparks!” 

jj and spencer looked at him confused, lucas shook his head before explaining to them that robert putton’s girlfriend, diana had come downstairs and referred to spencer as doctor. 

“but i’m pretty sure that neither hotch nor spencer introduced him as doctor, because of course we found out spencer knew robert so we had to get him out of there, which leads to more on why maeve let her into her apartment because she assumed that the stalker was a man and let her guard down a bit when she saw diana at her door” 

  
  


“lucas! you’re a genius” spencer said before dashing to hotch’s office to reassure what lucas said was correct. 

  
  
  
  


“so we’re rethinking the profile?” lucas asked as he entered the round table to see blake, jj and rossi. blake nodded, sharing after what lucas pointed out and jj saying that the unsub is a female, there’s a lot to unpack and reconsider. 

  
  


once the team regrouped, they started discussing female stalkers and down to statistics and why a female would be a stalker so it can give them an idea why maeve was getting stalked by diana. 

  
  


morgan suggested the idea that maeve and diana were possible in a relationship together in the past and now diana is getting revenge back on maeve. hotch asked spencer if this fit maeve, if she and diana were ever in a relationship. spencer shook his head and said no, that it wasn’t possible, jj responded that earlier today, spencer didn’t know maeve had a fiance. 

“well the answer is no” spencer replied before asking what is the second most common reason a female is a stalker, which jj replied it was celebrity stalking. spencer replied that the celebrity stalking fits better, blake rebuttal and asked how because maeve wasn’t famous. 

“maeve’s however well known in her field” spencer answered 

“that’s a stretch though, most times celebrity stalkers aren’t violents” lucas answered from his seat, that’s when spencer got anger 

“you wanna tell that to john lennon, cortez? huh?” 

lucas started trying to say that he was sorry, but spencer kept going on, and was practically towering over lucas finishing his rant on: “well maeve is somebody and this...bitch! is a nobody” 

lucas got quiet, he slouched in his chair and let out a mumbled sorry, before looking away from spencer. it got quiet in the round table, spencer then let out a quick sorry before saying he can’t be of any help and that he should leave till further notice. 

“reid, you had 100.5 communication with the girl, you brain lets you recall everything” morgan said

jj added on how in conversations or letters that they’ve exchanged, maeve probably let out a detail of the unsub that neither of you notice” 

spencer shook his head saying it was too much, his head wasn’t clear enough. hotch told spencer to pick one of them to go through it together. the doctor genius got really quiet before picking blake. 

“alright, let’s go” 

  
  


once they were gone, lucas got up saying he needed to get some water before leaving the room. jj followed closely behind and asked if he was alright, the agent nodded his head saying that he was alright. 

“you sure? i never seen spence snap at you like that” 

“i have, it was five years ago in the vegas case, i know he gets like this under stress, it’s fine,” 

“you didn’t look fine” jj responded. 

lucas brushed it off saying that it wasn’t a big deal and for jj not to worry too much. 

  
  
  


penelope found dirt on diana, showing that she left college soon after maeve, and now works at a local community college. hotch was assigning those where to go, before they left spencer asked penelope what was diana’s doctoral. 

“spontauneous cellular death in suicide partners” lucas read from the file penelope gave him. 

“there’s got her suicidal ideations again” blake pointed out, spencer asked why she was so obsessed with that idea, especially if cells don't work that way. 

  
  


lucas, spencer and the others headed to diana’s place to see if they’ll find anything. the only thing they found was pictures of her dead parents, to see that they had committed suicide which could explain her obsession with her doctoral topic. 

“she’s watching us” rossi said pointing towards the camera 

jj went ahead and called garcia to talk about the cameras and if garcia was able to hack in. rossi and lucas focused back on spencer and asked what he was doing, spencer replied that he was making a deal. 

“it better not be a dumb one” lucas replied.

  
  


spencer had written on the paper: “me for her” 

suddenly the phone rang, and when spencer picked it up, it seemed that it was maeve and not diana. the others listen carefully to the conversation, lucas didn’t like the idea of spencer risking his life, yes lucas wanted spencer to get maeve back, but what if spencer believed that outcome of this will not end like he thought it would. 

“i need a map of D.C.” spencer said after hanging up. 

  
  


back at the bullpen, spencer was marking the map to see where maeve and diana’s location was, which he was able to find in a few moments. 

spencer believed that diana was trying now to be exactly like maeve so spencer can look at her the same way, the smartest girl in the room. penelope was able to find the second location which was right next to maeve’s loft. 

“spencer, are you sure about putting yourself in maeve’s positon?” 

“lucas, i have no choice, if i don’t go in there, maeve is dead” 

“okay, but what if your plan doesn't go as they way it’s plan? spencer, i can’t lose you” 

spencer asked lucas if he trusted him, the agent stayed quiet for a bit before replying: “spencer, i trust you with my life” 

the genius doctor than answered for lucas to trust him on this takedown, lucas seemed hesitant before taking a deep breath and nodding his head.

the SWAT and BAU team showed up at the loft, when they got down, there was a box at the front, when spencer opened it it was a blindfold. just as he grabbed it the intercom came on: “take your gun and vest off!” ordered diana. 

“no, no, no! listen, i know you said to trust you, but spencer this-” 

“lucas, please” 

lucas looked back at hotch for something but nothing so instead lucas just nodded at spencer, regretting everything the minute spencer walked into the loft. the young agent clenched his jaws together, feeling that he just signed off spencer to his death. 

  
  


suddenly a shot was fire, and lucas’ fight or flight kicked in

“spencer!” 

“lucas! everyone, go” hotch ordered as they followed lucas into the loft. 

lucas was the first to entered pointing the gun out in case of anything, spencer was on the ground shouting at them to stay back. 

spencer was trying so hard to stop diana from harming maeve, by still saying to trade maeve for him. diana asked would spencer really kill himself for maeve, spencer nodded his head rapidly. 

“thomas merton” maeve breathed out, it seemed like something spencer would understand. diana seemed jealous that it was something between them, especially when maeve responded that thomas merton was the one thing that diana can’t take from them. 

“no” diana had it and held the gun to her head 

“wait!” spencer shouted

and before anyone can shoot diana, it was too late, she had managed to kill herself and maeve, in one shot. lucas felt heartbroken for spencer, he was currently sobbing his heart out. lucas felt like there was nothing he could do, lucas knew how spencer felt, he had went through this with liam. 

  
  


eventually lucas got spencer out of there, he wasn’t crying anymore but he was just hurt, unsure what to do next. 

“do you need me to take you to your apartment?” lucas asked 

spencer just nodded. 

as they arrived into spencer’s apartment, spencer let out in a faint voice: “what did you do next?” 

spencer was referring to when lucas lost liam, the agent shared he spent time in the hospital, as spencer knows and that it was just a long time of healing. 

“i’m not gonna sugarcoat it for you, but it hurt like a piece of shit for a long time, but i’m gonna be here by your side and so are the others, i’m gonna leave but call me if anything” 

spencer just nodded, and all lucas felt was worried about leaving spencer alone. 


	45. 𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐧𝐮𝐦 𝐨𝐩𝐮𝐬

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it had been days since anyone has heard from spencer, he was mouring over maeve, can you blame him?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> content warning: the case involves about blood so please proceed with caution

lucas walked up the stairs to spencer’s apartment with penelope, she had been bringing basket after basket for him but spencer hasn’t left his apartment since lucas dropped him off the night of what happened. when they reach the top step, they say jj standing outside the door. 

“hey, jj” lucas said, walking over to her, jj smiled before saying that she stopped by on her way to work. 

“penelope has been dropping him off baskets after baskets” 

“yes, i even went all spencer and researched good ideas for gifts and i read about nuts and how that it helps your brain get serotine, spencer! please at least knock that you’re conscious” penelope shouted. 

it was quiet for a few moments, until two knocks came in, that reassured all three of them that he was well. lucas just looked at the door, he knew what spencer was going through. the only difference is that him and liam saw each other, spencer’s first sight of maeve was when she got kidnapped. 

“what do we do?” penelope asked towards lucas, jj also looked at him 

“well, you remember when i lost liam, what did you do then?” 

“we stood by your side” jj responded 

“and that’s what we’re going to do, it’s going to take time for spencer to be able to heal from this, look how long it took me till i told hotch to let me back, it was painful, i blamed myself constantly, those were darks months, i still hurt, but in the end after the healing process and knowing that  _ his friends are here for him _ ! spencer will come to us” lucas said, emphasizing a line. 

jj and penelope nodded, lucas was right so they left spencer in his apartment hoping that he’ll be well. 

  
  


“we have a case,” blake said as soon as penelope, jj and lucas entered. penelope scurried off to read over the case so she could present it to the team. jj asked lucas how he was doing, the agent responded that he’s well and that they got a case to worry more about. 

“how’s spencer?” morgan asked as lucas made his way up to the round room. lucas replied saying that he went over but nothing, morgan shared that he called him but as well nothing. 

“he’ll be alright eventually, it’ll take time…” 

“you would know,” morgan said coolly. 

morgan stopped mid way, having lucas stop and turn to look at him, morgan quickly apologized but lucas shook his head saying that it was fine, and to not worry about and sharing that they have a case. 

“alright, let’s get this case on the road, like now” lucas said before sitting down at the round table. 

  
  


the team was leaving for san francisco for their case, it had to do with an active serial killer, lucas wasn’t sure if he should go ahead on the case, penelope noticed the worry on his face and walked over to him. 

“hey, i’ll make sure he’s alright, don’t worry,” penelope said to lucas who gave him a small smile which caused the agent to thank penelope before leaving with the others on the jet. 

according to the reports, there were two victims so far, found in plastic wrapping and their blood completely drained from their bodies, there were even huge holes to prove it but the BAU weren’t sure why the unsub was doing this and how. of course that’s why the police called the BAU, to have them solve the case. 

“what could the unsub want with all this blood?” asked lucas flipping through the files.

the team went on discussing why the unsub would want all this blood, rossi came to the discussion that it was in fact because he wanted to drink. lucas squirmed in his seat just hearing that, it was so unsettling knowing that it could be a possibility. 

  
  


garcia came on the screen, and she announced that the police found another body, wrapped in plastic and blood drained just like the other victims. the team believed that it was possible how it was someone who was medically trained. 

morgan and lucas were the ones sent to the morgue for this case, the others were told where they were going. 

the ride over to the morgue was really quiet, lucas wasn’t sure if morgan felt bad for what he said earlier to lucas at the BAU or maybe he was just really worried about spencer which made complete sense. 

  
  


just as they arrived to the morgue, garcia called morgan and as usual, he answered: “what’s up baby girl” 

lucas can tell that it was about spencer based on how morgan was answering garcia; lucas however tried to ignore the conversation between them so he doesn’t over think about spencer. 

everyone was concern about spencer, he was their friend, lucas focused back on to morgan when he ended his conversation with garcia by saying: “let me try something” 

“try what?” lucas asked morgan, who just pointed at his phone and led lucas into the morgue. 

morgan had asked spencer a question that he would most likely answer about the case, lucas asked if morgan was sure that spencer would reply. 

“i don’t know but there’s a 50/50 chance,” morgan replied before the coroner came out with the files that morgan called ahead for. suddenly morgan’s phone rang, and lucas’ heart jumped. 

was it reid? 

“morgan…?” lucas asked as morgan answered the call. 

as soon as the conversation started, lucas could hear spencer’s voice; he tried not to cry or snatch the phone from morgan to talk to spencer, so he just took a deep breath and listened into their conversation. 

“reid says that the reason the unsub leaves the eyes so that the victim can see what he’s doing” 

“heard that” lucas responded as he was looking through the files, from the corner of his eyes, he saw morgan turn his back to the coroner and lucas hearing a faint question, possible asking spencer how he was doing and quickly the line went dead, surely spencer responded but lucas didn’t hear. 

  
  


after talking to the morgue and figuring out that the unsub is also possible taking doses of what he’s giving the victims, but their idea of having the unsub be possible medically trained but according to the coroner, that they weren’t because of the hesitation in the wounds and that it was possible it could be a amatuer. 

but the answer was still unclear on what the unsub was doing with the blood. 

  
  


they found another victim, with the same thing that happened to the other victims, hotch and blake. 

  
  


when blake and hotch came back, it was time to deliver the profile to the others. lucas’ mind kept going back to spencer, he couldn’t help but think of him. blake noticed this and suggested for lucas to go out and take a breather for a bit, the agent shook his head, blake insisted, so lucas went ahead. 

the wind brush against his cheeks, it was such a bothersome, not knowing how reid is, i mean he was a bit envious of morgan getting to talk to him, but of course it could be a lot for spencer to talk to more people. 

  
  


the team worked together til the late nights, at some point lucas started growing a bit more tired, he tried not to fall asleep on his files, but he couldn’t. eventually of course, hotch called it a night for everyone and they retreated back to their hotel rooms. 

lucas entered his room and flopped on the bed, didn’t even wanna get up to change or anything but of course he wanted to as well. the agent got off the bed and headed to his baggage to get his clothes out, afterwards brushing his teeth and washing his face off. once everything was done, lucas looked at his phone, he was so tempted to call spencer and check on how he was doing, but instead just left it alone for the night, but he couldn’t stop thinking about it.

blake and rossi the next morning found a painting of the first victim at an interesting location, as well as the gallery that jj and hotch went to, both owners explained the man was in his 30s most likely and was an average white guy that initials the paintings with the letter ‘b’. 

morgan went ahead and called garcia to see if she can see if there’s anyone she can find with the letter ‘b’ as an artist. 

at some point lucas took the time to go get everyone coffee, and he only offered to get it because of two reasons, one being that he wanted to get coffee himself and two because he needed to take a walk. 

when lucas came back, he went on and on about how it took him forever because there was a long line that was holding him up. 

“pretty sure, some lady try to cut me, and i was already having a rough day so-” lucas stopped talking when he looked up and realized spencer was here. in person, spencer was here. 

“hi” spencer said 

lucas put down the tray of coffee and attacked spencer with a hug, he tried not to hug him too tight but he couldn’t help it. finally lucas pulled away and gave him a smile before letting out a sigh and a quick apology. 

spencer finally decided to share what he figured out and shared that the unsub is a hemophiliac, rossi added on how that definitely is the reason for his obsession with blood, blake adds that it was also the reason the unsub is removing the plasma from the blood. 

morgan called garcia once more asking her to look for people who are hemophiliac, reid added on another thing for garcia to find that could help her search be a bit easier. garcia shared her happiness for reid’s arrival, to which he replied a soft thank you. 

garcia was being through possible profiles that the unsub is considered as leaving her list down to three people, blake added one more possibility, which got garcia to find out who he was and his name was bryan hughes. 

“he works at the san francisco art museum and before you ask, yes his address has been sent to your phones,” garcia said before hanging up. 

lucas looked at reid before leaving; the genius just gave lucas a small smile before lucas went off with the team. 

it was nice to see spencer out of his apartment, but lucas still worried about him. of course right now was about the case. 

as they arrived to the location of bryan, hotch entered first, lucas was last and behind jj hearing hotch’s voice ordering bryan to put down the knife. slowly one by one they entered the room, all guns pointed at bryan. 

they all hesitate, believing they would have to shoot bryan which was the last thing they wanted to do. bryan did raise the knife, and before he can attack, morgan and hotch fired, as soon as bryan was down, lucas called for an EMT. 

  
  


just like that the case was close, lucas sat comfortably in the seat on the jet, but he couldn’t help but look at reid who sat across from him. jj, morgan and lucas have been talking with him trying to make sure he was fine. spencer apologized for his distance lately. 

“you don’t have to apologize for that, we’re just glad you’re okay” lucas responded. 

morgan soon apologized saying that he didn't mean for spencer to come all the way out here to san francisco but spencer responded it was alright.

“we’re here for you, kid, if you need anything let us know” 

“actually i do need help with something” 

spencer wanted them to come over to his apartment and help him clean up the place, which they were glad to do. 

it was mainly books everywhere, so they gathered all of them and placed them in the shelves, trying to make the place look more like home and not dark and dusty. they opened curtains, and pulled down maps from spencer’s wall. 

as soon as they finished, they all wished goodbye, lucas was the last one to leave, just as he was grabbing his jacket to say goodbye, spencer asked if he can stay a bit. 

“yeah...of course, i’ll stay as long as you need me to” lucas said smiling at spencer. 

  
  
  
  



	46. 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐲𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> pilar brings a new boyfriend to introduce to lucas  
> with lucas and spencer, the agent slowly starts realizing everyone around him comment about spencer and him but they were oblivious

“how’s he doing?” asked amanda sitting across from lucas as they took breakfast together, lucas responded that spencer has been doing okay, but he couldn’t give an exact answer. amanda nodded, it seemed she wanted to mention liam because lucas and spencer both lost someone who they love. 

“i can tell what you’re thinking,” lucas said while drinking his coffee. 

amanda let out a small smile before apologizing, lucas replied there’s nothing for amanda to feel sorry about, he knew what spencer was going through, it was a difficult time. suddenly lucas’ phone went off, he looked down at it seeing it was a call from pilar. 

“who is it?” 

“my sister” lucas said before picking up the phone and answering. 

**_“hello?”_ **

**_“lucas! it’s pilar”_ **

**_“i know”_ **

pilar apologized quickly before saying that she had some news, lucas asked what, pilar shared that she had met someone named trevor, and pilar and him have been playing on visiting virginia just to see lucas. 

“wow, i love to meet your boyfriend that i was totally aware of” 

“now, don’t be so mean” 

“excuse me, i have to play the big brother role” 

pilar explained there was no point because trevor had already met esmeralda prior, lucas let out a soft groan knowing that if anyone can survive esmeralda, they’re good enough. pilar asked if lucas was busy, but the agent shook his head, the only thing that he was concerned about was the replicator. 

recently the team figured out that most of their recent cases were being copied by someone, who had seemed like they were following them, taking pictures. which is why when amanda and lucas got into the restaurant, to sit in the back far corner. 

lucas had been so cautious about it since, knowing that this person could be anywhere, right now was so unsettling, after lucas finished his call with pilar, amanda and him paid the check before leaving their separate way. 

lucas had informed his friends that if anything, he was not going to hang out with them for a long time knowing that the replicator could be watching them and didn’t want them to be in harm’s way. the reason lucas didn’t tell pilar was so he didn’t worry her, she was probably nervous enough about introducing her boyfriend. 

lucas looked through his files at work, it was a paper type of day, spencer approached him, seeing a worried look on his face. 

“hey, you alright?” 

“i should be asking you that, but i’m good, i promise it’s just my sister coming to visit with her new boyfriend and i’m just nervous about…” lucas said, spencer didn’t want lucas to be constantly anxious, he’s done so much for him maybe spencer should do the return. 

“why do we ask rossi to have a dinner party at his house, and pilar and her boyfriend can come with” 

lucas looked at spencer with hopeful eyes and asked if that was a possibility, spencer shared that it was a 50/50 chance, but most likely yes. lucas thanked spencer but then quickly added that he doesn’t have to do this, but spencer cut him off by saying that he was always glad to help lucas. 

  
  


spencer encountered rossi in his office during lunch time, hoping that he said yes. 

“reid, what do i owe for pleasure?” 

“rossi, i know things have been tense for the team lately especially with the replicator, but maybe a nice dinner party would cheer everyone up” spencer said, clenched his fist, in worrisome that rossi would say no. 

rossi stayed quiet for a moment, before saying: “penelope mentioned that you would be asking me about this, may i ask why you thought of this” 

spencer looked at rossi before rambling about how lucas had been stressed out about the replicator, and then his younger sister was visiting to introduce her boyfriend to lucas. spencer then added on how this wasn’t even just for lucas, the whole team, especially hotch have been on their toes ever since they found out about the replicator. a nice breather would let them be at ease for even a few moments. 

  
  


lucas looked at the email, between him and emily, since their time zones were different, they just sent each other email back and forth. according to emily, lucas wasn’t the only one that was keeping her company, jj would play scramble with her. 

_ RE: new partner  _

_ emilyprentiss: well your sister isn’t the only one who has a new boyfriend, i may be seeing someone. she’s this cute florist nearby my apartment here, but who knows if she’s interested, but hey i’ll keep buying flowers regardless. anyways you have to let me know how the new boyfriend is and if we have to pull some strings to get rid of him.  _

_ keep me updated,  _

_ Love you loads!  _

_ em x.  _

  
  


lucas smiled at emily’s email just as he was about to respond, when spencer rushed over to lucas’ desk and announced rossi agreed to having a dinner party at his house. lucas thanked spencer once more, feeling bad for even letting out everything, but spencer said it’s fine. 

“i should be helping you with anything with everything that you went through” lucas replied 

“i know but i promise you, that i’m fine” 

“spence…” 

before lucas can finish his sentence, spencer left back to his desk, lucas was slowly getting a bit concern, maybe he was projecting his loss of liam onto spencer, but spencer was heartbroke a few weeks ago, he couldn’t be completely fine, spencer lost the love of his life. 

“hey, you okay buttercup” asked penelope passing his desk 

“i’m just worried about spencer, he says he’s fine but…” 

“i know, i wish he just talk to us but maybe we have to be patient with him, have him come to us like you said” 

lucas nodded before telling penelope that they were having a dinner party at rossi’s, which penelope quickly cheered about. 

  
  
  


when pilar arrived in virginia with her boyfriend, lucas asked amanda to come with him, the pair stood outside the gate where pilar and her boyfriend would come out soon, they both had coffees in their hands, considering it was a early, the pair were almost sleeping on each other. 

“when is your sister coming?” 

“i...don't know” lucas said in a long drawing tone, amanda let out a soft groan before a loud: “LUCAS!” came into their ears.

“there she is,” lucas announced, amanda stood up quick and smiled at pilar as she walked hand in hand with a guy who was a bit taller than her. 

“lucas! hi!” pilar cheered hugging, before introducing trevor to lucas; and lucas introduced amanda to pilar and trevor before asking if they were heading to get their bags. 

as they were walking, lucas asked trevor what he does for a living, trevor replied he’s a lawyer. amanda joked saying if anything happens, trevor could be her lawyer. lucas replied to amanda saying that pilar possibly could get jail-free cards. 

“okay, let’s talk about what we’re going to do while we’re here,” pilar said. 

lucas shared that they were going to rossi’s house to eat dinner and that he was going to cook for everyone from lucas’ team. pilar asked if spencer was going to be there, lucas nodded before asking why, pilar said that she wanted to introduce trevor to spencer. 

  
  


the night came down, everyone was getting ready to leave lucas’ apartment to head over to rossi’s. 

“i’m telling you his mansion is huge!” lucas exclaimed as he began driving 

“geez, how much money does he make being a profiler? and how come you don’t have mansion” pilar asked 

“he also writes books too” 

pilar nodded, before lucas asked if maybe trevor has enough salary to get a mansion, trevor said he would like to keep dreaming that. 

finally they arrived at rossi’s mansion, pilar, trevor and amanda gasped loudly, lucas nodded before saying that he wasn’t exaggerating. the four came to a stop, before getting out and going into the house. 

lucas rang the doorbell, before it was opened by rossi with a towel over his shoulder, 

“i hope it’s ready, i’m starving,” lucas said; rossi said for them to come in and for lucas not to rush the dinner process. lucas groaned lightly before introductioning amanda and trevor to rossi and re-introducing pilar. 

once they were more in the house, hotch, blake, derek, jj and penelope were already there. 

“lucas!” penelope cheered before walking over to him and pulling him into a hug, before asking who trevor was, pilar introduced him to penelope and the others. lucas asked where spencer was. 

“pretty boy said he’ll be here, don’t worry,” derek said. 

“oh, i worry” lucas mumbled under his breath. 

around 9:30, the doorbell rang, when rossi came back it revealed spencer. 

“spencer!” lucas cheered, the tall agent smiled before approaching the others, he greeted everyone including pilar and amanda. 

“dr. reid this is trevor, my boyfriend, trevor, this is dr. reid” pilar said, spencer nodded his head, when trevor reached out his hand to shake hands, spencer shook his head saying that he didn’t like shaking hands because of the amount of germs exchanged and that it would be safer if they kissed. 

“n-n-not that we kiss i meant in general” spencer rambled. lucas gave him a small smile before he could say anything, rossi announced dinner was ready. 

“thank you!” lucas cheered before walking over to the table. 

  
  


they all chatted, eat, kept on talking and talking before the evening was coming to an end, lucas felt that he didn’t get to speak to spencer all night. everyone slowly started piling out of rossi’s. as lucas was heading out with his group, he was stopped by spencer. 

“hi” 

“spence, i didn’t get to speak to you all night” 

“yeah, sorry” spencer said, lucas shared that it was fine, they were all having fun. 

spencer asked if lucas would like to have lunch sometime this week, lucas nodded before asking if spencer was alright. 

“i think i’m doing okay,” spencer said. 

“you know i’ll be here for you, i’m just one call away” lucas replied before saying good bye to spencer and getting into the car. 

as they were getting close to lucas’ apartment, he could hear trevor's voice, who was trying to whisper: “so they’re not dating?” 

pilar answered no that they weren’t, and plus that spencer just lost someone, lucas tried not to seem like he was listening as he stopped the car and everyone piled out. 

  
  
  


once everyone was set to sleep, lucas flopped on his bed, he petted robin as he received an email from emily, and he started to type back but couldn’t help but keep thinking of spencer and trevor’s comment, and of course everyone’s comment prior. were they oblivious? no of course not.


	47. 𝐚 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐞 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> spencer asks lucas to go with him to a movie festival, the agent agrees but when the actual movie night comes around, lucas might be mistaken it for something else

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> content warning// talk of food

spencer had been having dreams about maeve, lucas only found out about this after their case in rapid city, rossi gave him some advice, of course lucas was still worried wondering how long he had avoided sleeping because of the repetitive dream of maeve. 

“you doing okay there, lucas?” blake asked 

“yeah, i’m just thinking about my therapy appointment later today and i’m sort of tired,” lucas said letting out a yawn and rubbing his eyes slightly. 

blake told him that perhaps he should take a nap, lucas shook his head saying that he’ll be fine and to not to worry too much about it. blake nodded and left him to it, he looked over at spencer once again, he didn’t want to constantly bother him with any questions or overstep his boundaries. 

it felt like it’s been years since liam’s death, but lucas believes it’s because of so much lucas’ has been on cases and everything with spencer; lucas was so in his head that he didn’t realize spencer was there, which caused a yelp to come out of his mouth. 

“sorry” spencer exclaimed 

“it’s okay, i was just in head, what’s up spence?” 

“i was just wondering if you have any plans today?” 

lucas explained that he had his therapy session but afterwards he was probably going to go ahead and rest for the rest of the night in his apartment with robin and reply to some of emily’s emails. spencer seemed like he wanted to ask lucas something, so both agent just shared a look before spencer said: “there’s this movie festival and i was wondering if you wanted to join me” 

“today?” 

“if you can” 

“i think so….wouldn’t you want to rather take someone else like blake?” 

lucas referred to blake because the theme of movie festival would be something they were both interested in and lucas felt like he would be dumb to go with spencer. however the dr. genius replied that he would want to go with lucas. 

“really?” 

“yeah, so would you like to?” 

“yeah, okay!” 

spencer seemed pretty happy and nodded his head as he headed back to his desk, as did lucas, he tried so hard not to show how happy he was. 

  
  


after lucas’ therapist meeting, he headed back to his apartment and wrote a quick email to emily before getting ready. 

_ RE: Emails catchup!!! _

_ lucascortez: letting you know that i can’t write as much tonight, i’m heading out with reid to this movie festival, but i will write back as soon as possible, okay!! bye love you don’t do anything dumb  _

_ love,  _

_ lucas  _

  
  


when it came to be 6:30, lucas heard a knock at his door, he rushed over and opened it to reveal spencer in a more casual fancy attire, lucas tried his best to stop from smiling like today at work but let out a smile and said: “wow, spence you clean up nice!” 

“you ready?” spencer asked 

lucas nodded his head rapidly before saying goodbye to robin and heading off with reid. 

  
  


“so the blankets and picnic basket is for….?” 

“the movie, it's in a park and there’s no seats and i also knew you get hungry” spencer said. 

lucas let out a small smile as they got closer to the train station to head to the park. 

  
  
  


arriving at the park, lucas and spencer found a perfect center spot, spencer handed over the basket to lucas and set the blanket down to the ground before the two sat down on top of it. once they were settled, lucas open the bag to see a bottle of apple cider, and containers of spaghetti probably from rossi, dessert, some garlic bread and that was about it (of course utensils and cups) 

lucas furrowed his eyebrows in confusion a bit, glancing over at spencer who was looking around him and adjusting his jacket and seating. 

lucas had to be reading this wrong, he just had to be, there was no way in hel-   
  


“everything alright?” 

“what?” 

“everything alright?” spencer asked again 

lucas nodded his head as he closed the basket for when they were hungry, the movie was started soon an announcer came on stage and madea few announcements about rules, he then briefly mentioned the movies being in russian which caused lucas to panic and asked spencer if there was subtitles 

“yeah don’t worry” 

“oh okay, sorry for asking” 

“it’s fine, i should’ve told you ahead of time” 

  
  


the movies finally started, around the middle of the movie, lucas and spencer sat a bit more closer to one another; lucas felt his face heat up, this was not what lucas thought it was, that was impossible, it just wasn’t. 

“lucas? everything okay?” 

“I’m….just, hungry! right, a bit hungry” 

“okay, i got you” 

spencer opened up the basket and pulled out the spaghetti and handed it over to lucas with a fork and napkins, spencer asked if he needed anything else, the young agent shook his head at spencer before thanking him. 

  
  


the basket was cleaned out by the end of the movie, spencer and lucas threw out their trash before heading back to the train station so spencer can take lucas back home. 

“you know if you’re tired, we can stop at your place, and from there i can go back home if it’s okay with you” lucas asked, looking at spencer’s tiredness, the doctor genius nodded his head thanking lucas. 

“i wanted to take you home, but i’m so tired,” spencer said, rubbing his eyes and yawning as well, lucas nodded as he let spencer rest before they came to a stop near his part of town. once they arrived at the stop, lucas and spencer made their way out to the apartment. 

  
  


finally reaching their destination, lucas got spencer upstairs, it may seem that spencer was ready for a good night’s rest, he thanked lucas for taking him home. once spencer was settled, lucas shared that he was going to head out. 

“good night spence” 

“night, lucas” 

lucas got a cab home, when he arrived back at his place after a long day, he kicked off his shoes and put the jacket on the coat hanger, to then realize he didn’t leave with a jacket on and that the jacket that was hung up now was spencer’s for when it got a bit cold towards the night fall. 

“i should email emily….” lucas mumbled to himself. 


	48. 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐫𝐤 (𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the team is getting closer to the replicator but before they can even find him, they have to sole a case prior.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw// lots of mentions of drugs, and overdose please proceed with caution 
> 
> so i assumed that episodes 23 and 24 were like two parts of the same storyline but they're not so this chapter is a bit longer than usual, however, please enjoy!

hotch, rossi and morgan along with strauss were on top of the cases that have been copied off by an unsub, who they were completely unknown of at the time, they would give the rest of the team updates when necessary otherwise then that, they were left in the dark. lucas would tell emily about what’s been going on but considering it was through email and something serious, he preferred he tell her in person because who knows who could be watching them. emily does the same with her cases, and doesn't tell lucas at all unless otherwise. 

zugzwang has been the common message from the unsub. of course, lucas has been trying to not stress himself out, but when he wasn’t constantly thinking about the replicator, he was thinking about the movie festival night, it’s been on his mind since then. 

  
  


lucas told emily about it, who claims that it was in fact a date, however lucas rebuttal that it wasn’t a date at all and emily was talking nonsense. 

  
  


to current time now, lucas was at his apartment reading through the book he was reading currently when suddenly he got a text from penelope in the groupchat that everyone was needed right now at the BAU and that the case involved hotch’s brother so they had to be quick. 

  
  


everyone had to be ready to board on the jet once they arrived, so lucas grabbed his go bag as soon as he could and changed as quickly as he could before dashing to drop robin off with his neighbor and dashing off to the BAU. 

they were caught up to speed about what was going on with hotch and his brother (that lucas hardly ever heard of and was shocked that he even had one) and the case that was currently building, strauss was with them because according to rossi, the team tends to go rogue with cases involving loved ones. 

  
  


the team chatted on the plane about what the possibilities are for the unsub to be able to target experienced party goers and drug users. blake went ahead and suggested that the unsub most likely was slipping drugs into people’s drink without their knowledge, with spencer adding that it was most likely possible. 

“so it’s likely he gets off on these kills, not just the victims but also seeing how the witnesses react” lucas commented looking over the report, blake and rossi added since that’s the case he loves the attention and is most likely paying attention to media because of the fact the murders will be aired. 

derek commented how since most of the victims were drug users, the unsub took advantage, but the only problem were the victims who were not drug users, rossi believed it could be for something else or those victims were hiding something. 

  
  


the team arrived on the latest crime scene, spencer and lucas went to question one of the witnesses of the recent deaths, asking if all of the witnesses’ friends took the same drugs as him, spencer was confused though on how the witnesses’ friends died but he didn’t 

“did they take more?” asked lucas

the witness nodded his head, which caused lucas to ask why that was. 

“they had more money to get more drugs” the witness answered

the agents shared a look before asking why they would want more if the drug they got was already effective, the witness replied that his friends didn’t want to wait for the drug to take over because it took forever to kick in. spencer asked how long did it typically take 

“about an hour, but this one was different it took even longer than usually” 

the unsub must’ve been trying to get victims to pay more and get more drugs, because the victims believe that the first batch they got was weak. lucas asked if the witness can describe who the person was that sold them the ecstasy. the witness shared that he didn’t have to and he was over there, behind lucas and spencer when they turned around in the body bag was the person who sold them the ecstasy. 

“great” lucas mumbled 

spencer and lucas shared with morgan and jj the information they got from the witness, after discussing a bit, morgan called garcia and asked her to look for anything on delayed onset MDMA, methamphetamine mixtures to see if there was anything she could find that could help with the case. 

garcia found something called PMMA or as others would call it ‘doctor death’ it would constantly kill people because it had a huge amount of meth and it causes death because of how much the person would take. 

  
  


as they were heading back to the station, spencer asked lucas if he was doing alright, the young agent nodded, the reason spencer asked is because they were in fact in new york, and so much has happened to lucas in new york, and of course, they were at the same station where clemson use to work. 

drawing closer to the station, lucas felt his stomach drop, spencer was in the back with him and grabbed hold of his hand, lucas gave him a small smile before the car came to a stop and they all got down. 

lucas was hesitant to walk into the police station, he moved his leg up slightly just to go forward but then stopped midway and placed his leg back where it was. everytime lucas came back to new york so many memories just came flooding to him, none of them were good ones. at some point lucas believed that new york wasn’t his home anymore, it didn’t feel the same when he first arrived in new york for college. 

“i know i mentioned several times i’m not a hands touch guy,” spencer’s voice ringed into lucas’ ears which drew his attention towards him. lucas mumbled his breath about how he held his hand in the car. spencer went ahead and said how if lucas wanted he could hold spencer’s hands. 

lucas shared he’ll link arms with him, the doctor nodded his head and extended his arm, lucas grabbed hold and they entered the building at a slow pace. 

  
  
  


rossi and spencer fled to another crime scene as soon they arrived, lucas was left with the others, lucas noticed in the integration room was an attractive blonde man, jj notice lucas staring and said that was hotch’s brother. 

“that’s hotch’s brother? no way” lucas whispered before returning back to jj and blake. jj then proceed to ask if lucas was doing alright, and he nodded telling jj, that he’ll be fine. suddenly garcia came on the screen. 

“i hope you saved me for dessert” her voice rang out. 

“garcia, i’m flattered but i think i need to remind you, i’m into guys” lucas joked 

“morgan’s not here, baby girl” jj said letting out a soft laugh 

garcia shared she knew that and that the comment was for jj anyways, blake proceeded to ask if there was any new information founded by garcia, who shared that the wine bottles that the parents who were the recent victims and one of the other victims were drinking came from whiteland vineyards. 

lucas shared how did any of this connect to the drug overdoses, blake shared there could be a possibility of two unsubs, one spiking wines, the other selling drugs to overdose victims. garcia shared she’ll try to find anything and call them back. as soon as garcia hung up, jj started trying to connect the dots, then adding how the answer was right there but wasn’t entirely sure what it was. 

  
  


lucas kept looking out at the office, blake took notice of this and asked if everything was alright with lucas, the agent just nodded sharing that he used to live in new york, but it was a long story for another time. 

  
  


the team were called onto the scene, hotch was sending his brother in with a wire to see if they could get anything, everyone was in their positions, waiting for hotch to tell them to move in. after a few moments, it seemed that hotch’s brother was going off script, because that’s when everyone heard hotch’s voice saying ready to go in to stop anything that could happen. 

  
  


some of the team headed back to the station to talk with the people from the bar while hotch had morgan and reid head with him to find his brother. lucas was in the room looking over files while, strauss, rossi, blake and jj were interviewing the possible suspects. 

hotch entered the room a few minutes later and notice lucas’ who notice hotch entering. 

“how’s your brother?” 

“haven’t found him” 

lucas hummed and nodded his head before going back to the files, hotch did the same once he sat down, it was quiet for a few moments before hotch apologized. 

“for what?” 

“we happen to be in the same station from five years ago, with everything with clemson” 

“it’s okay, don’t worry too much, you can’t control these things” lucas replied. suddenly rossi came in and started talking to hotch, and they discussed a bit about his brother before penelope came on the screen and shared the news she found which was that one of the victims withdrew money from their bank the day before they were murdered. 

the atm where they went was about two blocks from where they got their wine, hotch shared that he was going to go send morgan and reid to investigate, suddenly strauss, jj and blake entered the room soon after garcia hanged up, talking about what thane and the bartender told them about the ecstasy. 

  
  
  


lucas stepped out a bit to take a deep breath, for a bit before coming back into the station, jj gave him a sympathetic look which received a small smile from him letting her know he’ll be okay. the team was talking with penelope finally finding the possible unsub, larry feretich. 

  
  


it was most likely that morgan and reid would get there before the others so hotch had penelope send them the coordinates. 

strauss announced that they got hold of the unsub and that the case was closed, lucas let out a low sigh of relief before announcing he was going to go to the hotel and rest on his bed and for no one to wake him up till the next day. 

blake offered to take him considering she and strauss were heading that way. 

  
  


lucas collapsed on the bed the minute he was sent into his hotel room, the agent kicked off his shoes, and just laid there not wanting to get up, and wasn’t too soon till he just fell asleep, believing that everything was fine. 

  
  


however, the next day came around, and a pound came onto lucas’ door, causing him to wake up in a jolt, and rush to the door thinking it was an emergency, when he opened the door, hotch, spencer  _ and  _ ben were standing outside of it. 

“what the fuck, it’s seven in the morning, how do you even know i’m here?” lucas asked ben 

“i called hotch, obviously i needed to talk to you it’s urgent” 

lucas looked at hotch and spencer which then hotch shared that the replicator is in the city with them, hacked garcia’s computer and then ben received something tonight. lucas notice there was something in ben’s hands and asked what it was. 

ben revealed it to be the engagement ring that lucas gave back five years ago. 

“what is this some sort of proposal?” 

“no, listen first of all, these aren’t the exact engagement rings but someone got another and sent them to me with a craving in it” ben explained. lucas asked spencer if he had a glove on him, which lucky for lucas, he did. 

lucas placed the glove on and grabbed the ring to see the craving to say: “zugzwang” lucas said in a hush. 

all three agents shared a look, ben was asking what that meant but neither of them responded, the only person who did was hotch telling ben to come with him because he was going to be placed in protective custody till then. ben kept asking what it meant but his voice drowned out once he was further away. 

  
  


“lucas, you alright?” spencer asked

“it’s always new york” lucas replied before going back into his room to change. 

  
  
  


lucas headed out to the main room and ran into blake on her way there. 

“did you hear about what’s going on?” blake asked, lucas nodded, he wasn’t really in a talking mood, it was always new york. 

  
  


soon the four who were at the hotel, were told to search around the building for strauss, she had mysteriously disappeared and no one had seen her. although strauss wasn’t lucas’ exact favorite person, he was still a bit worried wondering what the unsub could do to her, considering she has children. 

  
  


hotch came back sharing that they found strauss but it was too late, the team discussed what could’ve happened and how they could’ve spotted the unsub and suggesting that the reason the unsub took strauss into a crowded area to humiliate her. hotch announced that the director wants them to solve the case and that they got 24 hours. 

the team took the jet back to the BAU to start the case, hotch shared that he knew about foyet, to which lucas furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, wondering how he knew that information. spencer shared when morgan said the exact thing that lucas was thinking, saying that it was possible that he was someone from the inside working. 

hotch shared that everyone would be in the conference room in five minutes, lucas closely followed hotch calling out his name. hotch turned around and faced lucas asking him what was up. lucas stumbled over his word, hotch ending up answering the question lucas didn’t ask. 

“he’s fine, he’s in protective custodies, here, don’t worry” lucas let out a low sigh before thanking him. 

  
  
  


the team headed to the conference room, and noticed the boards that penelope did for the team to investigate, they all thought why he would go for strauss and why on the day. there were talks of a possible anniversary involved. 

rossi called talking about how there was a mark on strauss, that it looked like a figure eight, everyone was sent a picture of the mark. spencer believed that it was an infinity sign but morgan believed it was in fact an eight because strauss was his eight victim. 

  
  


the team kept going on about past events where pictures of them were taken and could help them understand and figure out who the unsub was, because they believed that the unsub was someone who works on the inside. 

lucas pulled out the box that ben gave him, sharing that this was delivered to ben last night with the craving zugzwang. blake asked if the ring meant anything, to which lucas explained that it was a similar ring to the engagement one that ben gave him (an official ring) when they were in their twenties. jj suggested because they were in new york something that connected to lucas. 

  
  
  


no one had gotten sleep, lucas was living on coffee at the moment, as they talked around the coffee machine thinking who could the person working on the inside be. spencer asked how the eight was part of the replicator’s plan if he wasn’t copying from any other case. hotch had garcia go through laptop of strauss because of the fact that there could be something there that they didn’t know about that relates back to the figure eight. 

  
  


while hotch went to talk to a judge, the team stayed in the office wondering why the unsub would do this in the first place, copying off their cases and such; jj believed that it could connect to who the unsub is. 

lucas listened in but couldn’t stop thinking about ben, spencer notice this and reached out for his shoulder, and asked if he was okay. 

“yeah...i’m doing fine” lucas lied before listening back to the others. 

hotch came back after a while and told everyone to come into the conference room, they all shared a look and followed as they were told. 

hotch handed out a list of possibilities unsubs, then sharing they had to connect back to reid’s list, knowing that if they were going to interrogate each person, they had to be cautious because if the unsub gets wind that they’re trying to find him, he’ll make a run for it. 

  
  


blake shared that she believed that could be a bit of a coincidence that the replicator started all of this once she joined, but hotch believed otherwise, he noticed rossi back and both him and morgan headed to go talk to him. 

  
  


spencer approached lucas, before he could ask anything, the agent told him to stop asking if he’s okay, and that they can talk after this case was solved. spencer nodded his head when suddenly they both notice paramedics arriving, and rossi being place on the stretcher before going off to the hospital, the others gathered not too close asking hotch what happened, he had replied that the unsub somehow drugged rossi and that he was being taken to the hospital. 

lucas shared that the unsub had a chance to go ahead and kill rossi but instead didn't, which meant this was some sort of warning to the team. blake was confused on why he would be messing around with them, with so much information it was getting more and more confused. 

his ‘name’ was adam worth, he wants to be seen, well not by face at least but to be seen because he wants to be the worst unsub they’ve ever had. 

blake was confused on why she was the only person on the team who was not targeted by the replicator, it didn’t sit right with her, hotch believed that it was perhaps that she was his endgame. 

“maybe he knows you, personally” lucas suggested, penelope came back with files of FBI agents who were in new york at the time in 2001, there were two, one was dead leaving an agent called curtis. and right away, blake was able to recognize him. 

hotch asked if it was possible he fit the profile, blake shared that he was quiet and kept to himself but was a brilliant agent, and his passion was biochemistry, that’s when the wheels started turning, he was most likely the unsub no one else fit the profile but him. 

  
  


everyone suited up and penelope sent the coordinates to the team for them to head out and find curtis, everyone hopped onto the helicopter, once on the helicopter, they started to head out. there was two helicopters and they went in different directions, suddenly as they were talking to garcia, the screens turn static, reid and lucas shared a look confused on what was going on. 

suddenly the helicopter started shaking, and alarms going off. 

“mayday mayday” came the robotic voice of the helicopter, lucas squeezed his shut, silently praying everything was going to be alright, with his eyes closed, he searched for reid’s hand and once he found it, he gripped it tight and didn’t want to let it go. the pilot was able to stabilize the helicopter again, for a second till it started going hectic again, lucas was in between blake and reid so he can slightly feel their shoulders as he was being violently shaken side to side. 

“brace for impact!” shouted the pilot, lucas didn’t let go of reid’s hand, he was saying something to lucas but he couldn’t hear him over the noises, lucas just kept his eyes shut and didn’t open them till who knows when. 

  
  


when lucas opened his eyes, he was fine, luckily so was everyone else, or so he thought till jj asked where blake was, when lucas looked to his left, she was gone. 

“i have no idea…” 

morgan pulled out a canister like device asking what it was, and none of them knew but most likely it was curtis’ doing. 

once they were able to get out, spencer shared it was possible that the canister was to knock them out and for him to be able to take blake. lucas mumbled something about not wanting to take a helicopter ride ever again. 

“you alright?” asked spencer

“yeah...what were you saying on the helicopter?” 

“hm?” 

lucas shook his head saying nevermind before following the team. 

  
  


the swat team arrived at the location of curtis, they were all ready to go in and get blake out, guns out in case of anything. lucas felt his heart racing, it always did when it came to situations like this, the four of them ended up running into each other in the basement, morgan led the team down the hallway, opened the door and found blake tied up. jj loosen the cloth from her mouth, hotch told morgan and jj to go ahead and find him while the other three remain with blake and try and get her out. 

  
  


“something about this is too easy” reid said when trying to figure out the lock on blake, that meant there was something more than this, he wouldn’t just let them get blake without something else being added to the mix. morgan and jj came back saying that curtis had C-4 around the place and that they had about two minutes to get out, but spencer, hotch and lucas were still trying to figure out how to get blake out of the chains. 

“zuzwang also means a dilemma in chess, where the best move is to not move at all” spencer said, but however blake got up and spencer was quick to say for her not get up but it was too late regardless. the seat was a pressure sensor, and it was too late for any of them to react because the door shut behind them. 

  
  


however, they had their genius (ms. penelope garcia) to be able get them out and hold the timer from going off. 

“rossi’s still in there!” lucas yelled when hotch told everyone to start going abc because the house had C-4, morgan asked why rossi would go back in, and it was obvious, for strauss. but just like that rossi appeared running out of the house before seconds later it exploded with curtis inside. 

thus ended another hard case, ben was released from custody and was allowed to go back to new york, lucas and him didn’t speak before he left but there wasn’t anything to say. 

the fbi had a funeral service for strauss, it soon ended having everyone head back to their cars, like lucas said, he may not have liked strauss but that doesn't mean she deserved this death. 

the BAU team headed back to rossi’s to have dinner and reminisce about strauss, lucas didn’t have any good memorable ones so he listened to the others talk about her, and laughed and smiled. 

  
  


soon the laughter died down, they were silent for a moment before rossi let out a toast, about how last year was an amazing celebration at his house, referring to jj’s wedding, and then compared how this year was the completely different side of that. 

“it’s been a hard year, but tonight we celebrate a life well lived and loved, to a good women…” rossi said 

“to strauss” lucas said, everyone repeated and clinked their glasses together. 

  
  


lucas eventually grew tired and as did the others, they soon started heading out, spencer walked over to lucas before he left asking him something. 

“what’s up spence?” 

“i was wondering...can i swing by your place tomorrow?” 

“yeah, why?” 

spencer shared he missed hanging out with lucas, the agent let out a small smile before saying he missed spencer as well before saying that he’ll see him tomorrow and drove off home for a night rest. 


	49. 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it has all come down to this, i don't want to write a summary because spoilers so enjoy the chapter

lately spencer and lucas have been getting closer than usual, like everyone knows they like each other, but something about how they’ve been lately has been different than usual. 

“do you think they’re dating?” asked blake 

“what? no way, i don’t think either of them made a move” morgan commented, they all kept observant of the two at their desk, talking about who knows what. 

  
  


“so i was thinking, you come by for dinner tonight, i am in fact cooking tonight, be very proud of me and we can continue that episode of gilmore girls like i promised you” 

“yeah, that sounds great!” spencer replied. 

lucas looked towards the coffee machine when suddenly everyone started moving, he let out a small laugh, catching spencer’s attention, and asked if everything was alright, lucas just nodded before heading towards the coffee machine to approach the others. 

“enjoying the show?” 

“what show?” penelope asked very nonchalant 

lucas asked why everyone was looking at him and spencer, all of them shrugged their shoulders indicating that lucas was wrong and they weren’t watching him and spencer whatsoever. the young agent looked at all of them, glaring heavily. 

  
  


“i’m watching you guys…” lucas said before heading back to his desk. 

once lucas was out of ear shot, penelope went on chatting on how it’s possible that something is going on with the two of them. 

lucas kept checking in on rossi since strauss’ death and everything that had happened with the replicator, the agent headed up the small flight of stairs before entering into rossi’ offices. rossi looked up from his desk to see that it was lucas. 

“lucas…”    
“hey, be nice, i got tomatoes for you,” lucas said, referring to the farmer’s market he and spencer went to over the weekends and handed them over to rossi. 

“i’m fine, cortez, really”

lucas said he’s aware but he wants rossi to know that everyone here’s for him, rossi nodded before thanking lucas for the tomatoes. as lucas was heading out, rossi asked if there was anything going on with lucas and spencer. 

“what do you mean?” 

“come on, don’t think we all see it” 

“see what?” 

rossi responded that lucas didn’t have to lie and that they all knew about lucas and spencer dating. lucas yelled out a ‘what?’, rossi looked at him confused and asked if him and spencer were dating. 

“no! we’re  _ not  _ dating! what makes you think that?” 

“well it just seems you two are getting closer” 

“we’re friends, you know what i’m gonna leave before you continue this crazy theory of yours” 

  
  


lucas dashed back to his desk confused before stopping midway, he looked at spencer who looked back at him and before dashing off to penelope’s corner of the BAU. the agent furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and walked down in a huff. 

when he arrived to penelope’s office, he knocked on the door and heard a faint “come in” before entering. 

“do you think spencer and i are dating?” 

penelope hesitated to answer, she looked at him for a few seconds before answering honestly that she did believe they were and so did everyone else, lucas looked at her with a shocked look on his face. 

“we’re not!” 

“but you guys seem to be really into each other!” 

“spencer...doesn’t like me, not like that” lucas said 

penelope disagreed, saying that the way spencer looked and the way the pair were around each other said otherwise. lucas said just because they were getting closer than usual, doesn’t indicate anything, penelope said she knows spencer likes him. lucas let out a sigh before telling penelope to spread the word and headed out. 

re-entering the BAU offices, lucas ran into spencer, and he greeted him, soon spencer asked if he was alright seeing how lucas was because he left the bullpen in a huff, lucas nodded saying that he just needed a breather. 

spencer said if lucas needed anything he’s here, lucas nodded and told spencer he’s going back to work. 

  
  


in the evening, lucas was typing another email to emily, robin was curled up next to him on the couch, he was so into the email, he didn’t realize what time it was when suddenly there was a knock on lucas’ door. 

lucas was confused and walked over to the door and opened to reveal spencer with a plastic bag in his hand, lucas gasped and remembered he invited spencer to his place, he quickly apologize and let spencer in. 

“oh my god, spencer i’m so sorry, i was so tired i took a nap and then i woke up and i’m pretty sure i’ve been writing a intense email to emily, it looks like a whole book” lucas said before realizing that he promised spencer to cook for him and apologized for not cooking for him. 

“it’s fine, you looked so worn out after work, i had a feeling and i got us our favorite food from that restaurant” 

“which restaurant?” 

“the one around the corner” 

spencer was referring to a pizzeria that lucas and spencer had been going to for a while. 

  
  
  


lucas finished up his email to emily before sending it and closing his laptop, he returned to the kitchen to see spencer petting robin who was just purring. lucas smiled before sharing that they can eat now. spencer nodded and grabbed the food from the bags, and handed one chicken parm sandwich to lucas and spencer grabbed his sandwich and the pair started eating. 

  
  
  


they were about four episodes into  _ gilmore girls  _ when lucas felt extremely tired but he like having spencer around. they were both silent watching the episodes, lucas looked over spencer, the past few months between him and spencer have been interesting, maybe penelope was onto something, but lucas ignored it. 

“can we put a pause?” spencer asked, lucas nodded and pause the episode and asked spencer if everything was alright. the doctor genius nodded before letting out a heavy sigh, and turn to face lucas, who was getting more and more nervous by the minute. 

“remember how you asked me if i said something on the helicopter ride and i acted confused” 

“yeah” 

“i did remember what i said and i think it’s time to tell you…..lucas, i said on the helicopter as we were going down, that if something were to happen, i wanted to let you know...that i love you” 

lucas felt like time had stop, what did spencer just say to him? due to lucas not saying anything, was a sign from spencer to keep talking. 

“i think i’ve had for a while, but i was in denial at first and when i finally realize it was hard for me to process it and then when i wanted to tell you, you got with liam and then all of that happened and i started talking with maeve, who i did love, but you’ve always been in the back of my mind…” 

lucas was still quiet, what just happened? after five years of working together, spencer just told him he loves lucas. spencer noticed how quiet lucas was and said for him to say something, anything. 

“spence... i feel the same way, i think i’ve always had since we’ve first met but i was engaged to ben and i loved ben, and then we started working together and remember when i first kissed you?”

spencer nodded his head. 

“i know a part of me kissed you because i felt alone an it was my first time in a state without ben, and you were so nice to me and that’s why i kissed you but i think some deep, really deep part of me kissed you because i think i was aware of my feelings but i met liam, and i loved liam and anyways, i’m saying i love you too and that i just-” 

spencer stopped lucas from talking and kissed him on the lips, lucas was in shock before kissing him back, it was passionate for a few minutes till lucas pulled away and got up. spencer looked worry and asked if everything was alright. lucas nodded his head rapidly. 

“spencer, i wanna be together, but i need time to process this,  _ all  _ of this” 

“that’s fine, i understand” spencer said, smiling softly at lucas. 

spencer was too kind to lucas; spencer shared he should get going. it was late regardless, lucas led him out to the door, spencer told lucas good night before hesitating kissing him on the cheek, lucas went ahead and did it for him. 

“good night spencer” 

“night lucas” 

lucas felt like he was in high school again screaming over a boy. 

  
  
  
  


the next day at work, lucas couldn’t get his mind off spencer’s confession and their entire talk last night. the two get stealing glances between one another, lucas was surprised no one else was catching on. as lucas was deep into his thoughts, jj came from behind causing the young agent to jump. 

“woah, sorry!” jj said 

“it’s fine, sorry for yelling” 

“you alright?” 

lucas nodded his head before asking jj a question: “let’s say you and the person you’ve been in love with for a long time confess to each other your feelings and you’re relieved that they like you back, but you think you should wait a bit to be with them because you’re worried that something might mess things u-” 

jj cut him off before answering him

“lucas, if you have a chance to be with someone you know is the one, be with them think about the little things later, but go be with that person or you’ll regret it forever” 

lucas looked at jj with concern, she seemed like she was speaking form experience before nodding his head and thanked her, before getting up and rushing to the bathroom, on his way there he texted spencer to meet him there. 

  
  
  


spencer arrived he looked at lucas with concern and asked how he was doing, lucas nodded his head before saying that he wants to be with spencer, and that he loves him a lot and that they should be together, only if spencer is okay with that. 

“are you sure?” spencer asked, lucas nodded his head so hard it could’ve fallen off. spencer walked over and squeezed lucas’ hand letting him know that he was all in. lucas smiled before saying that he doesn’t want the others to know until they tell them, spencer nodded his head before giving lucas a quick kiss. 

spencer left the bathroom first, leaving lucas to be a smiling mess before heading back to his desk. 

  
  
  


“you seem really happy” blake commented towards lucas

“i sure am” lucas replied. 


	50. 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> garcia is throwing a Dias del Los Muertos party, everyone is invited but first they have to solve the case. also spencer and lucas are still hiding their relationship from everyone

“i owe you guys for helping me with this,” penelope said, spencer and lucas were carrying dias de los muertos decorations into penelope’s apartment, because she wanted to celebrate the holiday. lucas placed the boxes where penelope told him to, as she ordered spencer to get the hot sauce out of her fridge. 

lucas walked over to the counter to help penelope, when he noticed penelope putting red dye on her face near her eyes to make it seem like blood was coming out of her eyes. lucas looked at her, about to question, when penelope put her finger up indicating for lucas to stay quiet. 

“you have this eyeball beside the jalapeno sauce, but you might need more if you’re going to make guac” spencer said, placing the eyeball jar onto the counter, and didn’t acknowledge penelope and her attempt at being scary. 

“you didn’t even flinch” penelope said, lucas looked back and forth at them, before penelope kept talking about how jj was right, because penelope wanted to go scary for halloween but jj laughed at penelope claiming that she didn’t have a scary side. lucas rubbed penelope’s back in reassurance, spencer apologized before saying that most likely penelope had a scary side which penelope asked how is that possible and spencer explained the building blocks of a human, one of them including how people possibly have a dark side. 

“do you have one?” lucas asked spencer who nodded his head, penelope asked him to show his dark side. 

“okay, once you see it, you can’t unsee it,” spencer said. lucas furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. spencer closed his eyes before opening them and starting reciting something. lucas tried so hard not to laugh at him because of the fact that he couldn’t see spencer having a bad side. after spencer finished he said that it was from _ dirty harry _ , he was playing clint eastwood’s character. 

“of course, it’s not as powerful as my dominant side” spencer said 

“you’re what?” lucas asked as penelope’s phone was going off, and she announced they had to go for a case. as they were leaving, lucas asked spencer what he meant by dominant side. 

“shh” spencer said before leaving ahead. 

  
  


the team arrived and headed into the conference room, where hotch had returned from his time off, after a case gone wrong. the team had a new case on their hands, took place in utah with a woman who was found buried under a pile of rocks, everything was smashed. according to the report, she was tortured, clothes were stripped, and was classified as a jane doe. 

  
  


hotch needed them on the plane asap, because they couldn’t waste another minute, waiting for another attack, so he announced as always: “wheels up in 20” 

  
  


lucas grabbed his to-go bag and was heading out, just as he grabbed his bag, he nearly crashed into spencer. 

“oh my god, i’m so sorry” lucas said

“it’s fine, i was just here...waiting for...you” spencer said, lucas remembered they still haven’t told the team about them, so he tried to make it seem as normal as possible, before telling spencer it was fine and that they should start heading out. 

  
  


on the plane, penelope was able to tell them about the victim, once they were able to identify them from the dental reports, penelope went on and on about the victim to see if any information stood out, one did which was that she use to be part of an utopia group, spencer asked if it was lead by someone named herbert sykes, penelope shared that it was in fact lead by that man; spencer was able to talk about a case involving herbert and that the victim of the past crime was stoned to death, just like gloria carlyle. 

hotch told everyone what to do once they arrived in utah, lucas was put with reid and morgan to check out the crime scene. 

“if we were gonna hike, wish someone told me ahead of time” lucas mumbled under his breath as spencer and morgan aheaded without him along with the police officer.

the agents were able to see that where he was and where the victim was being stoned, it seemed like no one could hear her somehow. the search party went about 200 miles radius, morgan suggested that they stretch out the search more, believing that the unsub came to this place more than often. 

they started back down, spencer talked with the police officer asking questions, as they were coming more down, lucas let out a gasp, catching morgan’s attention. 

“look” lucas pointed out, morgan called out to spencer and the officer, seeing the other dead body meant that the unsub probably has been here more than once and that his preferences are blonde women. 

they headed back to the station, where hotch was trying to figure out about the victims and the unsub. lucas decided to get some water before heading back in, spencer walked over and asked how he was doing, lucas just mumbled that he was tired from his unnecessary hike. spencer let out a soft laugh before following lucas back to the conference room. 

the team as usual were trying to find anything that connected the victims, but beside their hair color, nothing so far; at some point around the late night, they headed to the hotel knowing that they couldn’t stay up any longer. 

  
  


the following morning, they got a call to find another victim in the downtown city park, jj and rossi went ahead to check that out while the others were at the station talking about the unsub’s killings. 

another officer brought in a report for abby, blake read it, seeing that the report claimed that abby had cocaine in her system. after looking more into the victims’ lives, they realize possibly to the victims’ eyes, they were sinners. 

calling hotch and informing him this, he decided it’s time to deliver a profile to the police. 

the sheriff walked in sharing that spencer was in his office, because he offered it to him and then shared how he has books stacked ontop of each other, lucas asked the officer if he can point out his room, and he did which caused lucas to head over to the office to indeed find spencer in a pile of books. 

“hey, what are you doing here all by lonesome self, clint eastwood” lucas joked referring to spencer’s reenactment of his dark side. the doctor genius rolled his eyes before sharing that he was just looking to see if he can find anything that connected to the case. 

“do you need any help? i’m a good reader, unless you already got tired of me” lucas joked, spencer shook his head saying that he never gets tired of lucas, the agent nodded his head before leaving spencer to his studious self and announced if he needed anything to let him know. 

  
  


after sometime, lucas would bring spencer some coffee to keep him energized, soon spencer came out from the office with some news about the branding that was found, the recent victim saying it ties back to a family crests from the late middle ages. the crests related back to a family who were lead prosecutors for the salem witch trials. 

which meant that the unsub probably believed that they were hunting witches. 

  
  


when spencer shared the information with the rest of the team, blake believed the unsub choosing stoughton was the best choice because he was the most ruthless of all the salem prosecutors. spencer added on how the unsub was copying off the execution styles. while discussing this, they were on the phone with garcia to see if she was able to find anyone who lived in utah connecting back to stoughton as in, family tree wise. 

penelope shared that it wasn’t a tree, because there are so many of stoughton’s decesants, and a handful were in utah, where their unsubs was, but none of them fit the profile. penelope warned spencer that it was gonna take a while considering that it was such a huge tree, blake joked how spencer needed a bigger copy. 

“lucas can help me” 

the agent looked up at spencer’s comment giving him a confused look, rossi let out a laugh and said to both of them to have fun. 

when spencer finally had the entire family diagram, he spread it out on the floor of the conference room. lucas looked at the diagram from where he was standing, penelope was not joking when she said that it was huge. 

“i learn to stop asking questions about this guy” the officer said as spencer was observing the diagram, lucas glared lightly at the officer, before focusing back on his boyfriend. while spencer used his genius brain to figure out the family diagram, lucas’ brain stopped working when he called spencer  _ his  _ boyfriend. as if he hasn’t done that in the weeks they’ve been dating but everytime he says it in his mind, it freaks him out in a good way. 

  
  


“did you find something spence?” asked jj, causing lucas to stop having a freak out, spencer shared he did; garcia was called on speed dial and put on speaker having spencer ask her about one of the names on the diagram. the genius talked about roy and becky danary dying in 1985 and left a son behind named william but there has been no trace of him since. penelope looked up the names and shared they were peace corps workers, and died in a car accident where they were last were and like spencer said, their son, nowhere seen since. 

  
  


jj and hotch pointed out how the unsub being connected to stoughton’s could have triggered his delusion, which meant he probably looked into the ancestor, the officer shared that it was easy to look that up because salt lake city had the biggest family history library. the other victims had researched and studied in libraries, lucas shared it was possible that they crossed paths at the library. 

hotch told jj to have garcia look into employees and volunteers in provo and salt lake areas library and see if any of them were descendants of stoughton. 

  
  


“this is gonna be a lot of papers to go into recycles,” lucas said standing by spencer once everyone left the room; lucas glanced over at spencer, wanting to give him a kiss for a great job but held himself back. 

“you two coming?” jj voice rang in. 

“yes” spencer and lucas said at the same time. 

garcia called back and shared she has not found any library employees that were in fact direct descendants of stoughton but there was a volunteer that catches her eye, his name was leland duncan, whose parents were mormon missionaries, lucas claimed that spencer didn’t see anyone named duncans who were descendants of stoughton. 

penelope shared who can guess where they did their missionary work in 1985, which hotch shared was in ecuador (also where supposedly roy and becky danary died). after learning this information, it came clear that the duncans adopted william and changed his name. 

“gonna send you a current photo of leland and his address” penelope shared just as she was sending it. once they got the photo and address, the team headed their way over. 

morgan went in first, busting down the door, they exam the house, finding so far no sign of leland, it was so dark in the house, next to his bed room were writing and photos, this definitely gave off the fact that he was in fact the unsub. lucas called jj to inform her and hotch. 

  
  


garcia sent coordinates to morgan, rossi, blake and lucas, to the secondary location, they were quick to react and head over to the location.

they arrived at the location, and arrived just in time, and stopped the unsub, telling him to not move any further or to take action, blake ordered him to drop the torch and lay down on the ground. leland was yelling at someone, about witches, and that they were phantoms, he tried to make a run from them, blake made a shot and he fell on the ground. 

lucas dashed forward to the mom and her daughter, morgan untied the mom while lucas untied her daughter and checked if she was alright; he check to see if she had a pulse which she did. 

the case was closed and all lucas wanted to do was sleep. 

  
  
  


“are you ready to go to penelope’s?” lucas asked spencer as he stepped out of his bed room, spencer nodded, and lucas proceeded to ask if spencer had pictures to put on the altar, the doctor nodded once more. 

“okay, so we’re good! let’s go” lucas said, grabbing hold of spencer’s hand as they made their way down and out to the streets. 

  
  


they arrive to penelope’s house where it seemed that most of the team was already there, spanish music was playing, candles were lit by the altar, people were drinking; lucas sat on the couch waiting for penelope to say something. 

hotch was the last to arrive, which led to penelope to start talking; she shared that she was grateful for everyone being here, she started first with her parents and her cat, simba, soon after it was jj putting a picture of her sister and placed a miniature eiffel tower because she believed on day she would live in paris. rossi was after putting a picture of private first class, darryl jenson and placed two baseball tickets talking about how they were opening day first season at wrigley. blake went after, putting a picture of her mom, sharing how her mom was her inspiration. 

spencer asked if it was alright to bring more than one, which penelope nodded in agreement, so spencer went next. 

he placed a picture of maeve, lucas let out a small yet caring smile, spencer didn’t say anything, but they all knew spencer would’ve, he then moved on to his picture of nikola tesla sharing how he’s probably inventing things on the other side. then came morgan, showing a picture of his dad, and placing a cigar alongside it saying he was a cigar aficionado and a huge fan of the cubs as well like private jenson, adding how him and private jenson go to the game together. 

hotch went after, putting a picture of hayley, he also didn’t say anything as well which indicated it was lucas’ turn 

“alright, so i got two pictures, um...here’s my abuela, may she rest in peace, she was my biggest supporter since day one and even if i knew her for a short amount of time, i know she’s still watching me from above and very very proud of me, and of course…” lucas put the second picture which was liam, the young agent took a deep breath. penelope said if he didn’t want to speak it was fine, lucas nodded as he wiped away a tear and stepped back from the altar. 

penelope called for a toast, and they all went around clinking glasses, quietly admiring the altar and remembering those they lost.

after a while, lucas shared he was going to head home, because he was tired and shared that he was spencer’s ride home, so most likely he was going to go with him. 

“awww, okay, but thank you for coming” penelope said, lucas nodded as he and spencer said goodbye to the others and made their way out. 

  
  


once they were on the train ride home, lucas asked if spencer wanted to stay the night, the doctor nodded his head before saying that he didn't have any clothes for the night. 

“i got you, don’t worry” 

  
  
  


once they got home, lucas handed over some clothes to spencer and told him if he wanted to go to the bathroom, it was down the hall, spencer thanked him and headed his way. 

once spencer came back, lucas already in bed with robin, petting him; spencer smiled at the image and walked over to the other side and lied down alongside lucas. 

“don’t move too much, robin sleeps here too,” lucas said, taking spencer’s hand into his hands. the doctor genius kissed lucas’ forehead and said that he’s been waiting all day to do that. the young agent hid his face into spencer’s chest before laying back and wished him good night. 

“good night, spencer, good night, robin” 

“good night lucas, night robin” spencer replied back. 

and soon after they fell asleep, it was peaceful and nice, possibly the first time spencer slept well. 


	51. 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐬

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a familiar face(s) comes visit lucas, people he hasn't spoken to in a long long time

“i win! ha! beat that, spence” lucas said before kissing spencer all over the face before the elevator door opened, spencer rolled his eyes as he followed lucas off the elevator showing off to the others how he beat spencer in crossword. 

spencer kept close to lucas as he showed off the finished crossword puzzle, to the team, morgan had hold of the paper before saying: “damn, pretty boy, you got competition” 

“i only let him win” spencer said 

“liar! you can’t accept the fact, i won!” lucas cheered before jokingly said he was going to frame it in his apartment for others to see whenever they come over. spencer watched as his boyfriend danced around happily about the win. 

it was supposedly a slow day, or so it seemed till someone arrived at the BAU, someone that lucas didn’t think he would see after all this time. 

  
  


it was around lunch time when lucas received a phone call from pilar which confused him because of the tone of her voice:  _ “lucas, i’m sorry, i tried to stop her but she just wouldn’t listen to me”  _

when lucas tried to talk to pilar about what she meant, pilar responded that she had to go and hung up, when lucas shared this to spencer, he also gave a confused look unsure why lucas received such cryptic message from his sister. 

of course, lucas didn’t think much of it till he and spencer headed back home to lucas’ apartment for the night, all lucas wanted was to relax, and eat the leftover calzone spencer got them yesterday. as they climbed up the stairs to the apartment, lucas noticed his landlord outside his apartment, worrying him and spencer. 

“they said they were family so i let them in, if anything i’m sure you’ll be fine, you have a gun” the landlord said before leaving. lucas looked at his landlord in confusion, as him and spencer slowly crept into the apartment, worried and concerned. 

when they entered, robin was on the counter and three figures on the couch, lucas shouted at them saying to identify themselves. 

“geez, chill out it’s me” it was esmeralda’s voice, lucas dropped his gun as did spencer, anger fueled inside of esmeralda before he asked what she was doing here and who the hell was on in couch. 

“also don’t fucking come into my apartment without telling me”

“ _ ¿así es como le hablas a tu hermana mayor? _ ” came a familiar voice, lucas felt a chill go down his spine as the other two people stood up from their couch. 

it was lucas’ parents. 

  
  


“what are you doing here?” lucas asked, he felt like he was shaking, he hadn’t seen his parents since he was 18, since he had left for college. 

lucas was sure what to do, was he supposed to move? what was he supposed to say or do, he can feel like he was going to throw up, oh my god! he was going to throw up. lucas rushed out to the bathroom, dropping his bag on the ground, and leaving spencer alone with his parents. 

  
  


lucas texted penelope and jj after texting his therapist he needed to see her this week.

**lucas** **  
** **_help!!! my older sister decided to come to my apartment and get this bring my parents!_ **

**penelope**

**_what????_ **

**jj**

**_when’s the last time you saw them?_ **

**lucas**

**_before i left for columbia i haven’t seen them since i feel so sick i think i’m gonna vomit again_ **

**penelope**

**_do you need us to come over?_ **

**lucas**

**_no, spencer’s here with me_ **

**_OH SHIT SPENCER I GOTTA GO_ **

lucas quickly rinsed his face before rushing back into the room, where spencer was standing with robin and his parents and esmeralda in the living room. 

“what are you doing here? why did you bring them?” lucas asked mainly towards esmeralda considering he hasn’t spoken to his parents for a long ass time. 

“esmeralda told us that you were in a accident that you were in hospital” lucas’ dad responded in a stern voice 

“well you’re a whole two years too late” lucas snapped but backed off a little, still fearing his dad, spencer can tell even after all this time, lucas’ parents still hold some sort of control of him. 

lucas looked over at spencer, for some help but then looked back at his parents, who asked who spencer was. 

“spencer’s a  _ friend  _ of lucas” esmeralda said rolling his eyes, 

“spencer’s my boyfriend” lucas responded snarky, feeling the disappointment stares from his parents, lucas couldn’t do this not tonight, maybe tomorrow, maybe never. so lucas then said if they can talk tomorrow because he just got back from work and wasn’t in a mood to talk to anyone and only wanted to come home and relax. 

“no, we can all this way because you were in the hospital” 

“two years ago! i’m fine now obviously, and esmeralda only brought you here to see what i’ve been up to or i’m assuming she finally told you or something and you decided to come to virginia after all this time” lucas snapped 

lucas’ mom shakes her finger at lucas telling him to not talk to her like that, because she was his mother. 

“ _ YOU STOP BEING MY MOTHER FOR A LONG TIME! YOU HAVE NO SAY AT ANYTHING! BOTH OF YOU! _ ” lucas said, he felt so out of breath, he hardly stood up to his parents growing up, yet maybe because of the tiredness, or maybe because he was tired of being scared of his family, but he let it all out. esmeralda looked at lucas with anger before telling their parents, they’ll come back tomorrow. 

“we’ll be back” 

“i can hear that, esmeralda” lucas asked, watching them leave the apartment, he felt his parents’ eyes on him leaving the room. 

  
  


as soon as the door shut, lucas fell to the ground crying, shaking, he was sobbing so hard, he didn’t pay too much attention to his surroundings suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder, lucas looked up and saw spencer looking down at him before kneeling down beside him. 

“spencer, i’m sorry…” 

spencer kissed the top of lucas forehead before letting him know they should get changed before eating, lucas nodded as they both got up to go changed, lucas wiped away his tears before making his way to his room, 

  
  


the following day, lucas didn’t go to work right away, he was at his therapist’s office about what happened the night before and all the emotions that were overwhelming. 

“so walk me through what happened” lucas’ therapist asked 

lucas basically explained everything that happened at his apartment, and how seeing them and esmeralda bringing up what happened two years ago, caused him to feel so overwhelmed. bringing back memories from growing up to his kidnappings. 

“and i just snapped and i never snapped at my parents and i don’t think i wanted to yesterday because i still had this feeling of control from them and now...here we are” lucas said, his therapist asked if his parents plan on coming back, and lucas nodded that they still wanted to speak to lucas. 

“maybe bringing spencer along like yesterday could create a sort of boundary, but from what you told me yesterday, i doubt that will happen, is there any way for you to tell them that you don’t wish to speak to them that it’s overwhelming?” 

lucas shook his head before responding how it’s mostly that they wouldn’t leave regardless. but it was overwhelming to lucas, he recently started talking to pilar again, and esmeralda nothing. she literally didn’t contact him or reached out to him after his time in hospital. 

  
  
  


lucas arrived at the office, to see spencer waiting for him at his desk, the agent tossed his bag in the chair and lunged himself onto spencer, hugging him tightly and muffling into his shoulder saying: “i wanna run away to a small place in paris, and never return” 

spencer kissed lucas’ head before asking him if he was alright 

“no...also i told my landlord to not let esmeralda and my parents into my house if he sees them again, so let’s escape to your apartment for the night” 

“what about robin?” 

“shoot….um….i’ll have amanda bring him to us” 

spencer kissed lucas on the cheek before hearing a shout: “reid! cortez!” 

“hotch, if you come bother me about PDA, i’ll eat your food, i’m having a rough day” lucas responded. 

  
  


the day went on, the others were told about what happened, yesterday, especially since he texted penelope and jj. 

“i emailed emily, because well she’s my gal, but like ugh, i just i can’t believe esmeralda just showed up out of nowhere who she thinks she is!” 

“so what now?” 

“i hide out at spencer’s till esmeralda leaves with my parents” 

“or...they’ll find you here” penelope said looking out the doors, everyone followed her look, and lucas saw his older sister, and parents. 

lucas stayed where he was, he felt his stomach turn, wondering how the hell they found out he was here or even where he works; lucas wasn’t sure what to do, or even where to hide, he felt like a little kid again. 

“i got this” blake said, getting up, lucas let out a shaky sigh as jj rubbed his shoulder in comfort. 

  
  


lucas wasn’t sure what blake was saying to his parents, but they seemed mad, esmeralda the most looking back at lucas with anger, jj told lucas to look away from them. 

when blake returned, lucas’ family left, he wasn’t sure if for good or what. lucas felt his hand squeezing spencer’s hard, blake shared that she told lucas’ family to leave, that they were invading his privacy, crossing a line and if they were to contact lucas again, it would be on lucas’ terms. 

“blake, you’re amazing, i love you” lucas whispered before pulling her into a hug, before realizing that maybe he should go ahead and talk to his family; lucas dashed out of the bullpen and headed in their direction.

“wait” lucas said, esmeralda and their parents turned around to face lucas, the young man responded that he wasn’t going to contact them any time soon because they had hurt lucas when he was younger, and to never show up to his apartment again unless he is told. 

“yes, you’re my parents, but you stopped being that for a long time, i told you that, you don’t get to waltz into my life again acting like ones, and you” lucas said looking towards esmeralda 

“you don’t get to be the big sister to me anymore, you’re nothing to me, none of you are; and you know what hurts more, that i still love you all regardless how much pain you caused me” lucas said nearly in tears before walking back into the bullpen. 

  
  
  


“i think it’s safe to say, we can go back to my place,” lucas said as spencer and lucas made their way back home,

“i was thinking we would go to the korean film festival,” spencer suggested, after a long day, a movie festival wouldn’t be bad, so lucas nodded his head, telling spencer to lead the way. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this clearly won't be the last time we see lucas' parents but this is a building point, hope you enjoyed it nonetheless


End file.
